Straight Up Typhoon
by MorningHell
Summary: Slash. Sequel to My Impractical Hurricane. How well do two heterosexual men do in a homosexual relationship?
1. Chapter 1

**Straight Up Typhoon – 1**

_EDIT: Ha ha! I'm such an idiot! XD I scribbled the title down months ago and never really thought about it, but fuckitall, it's supposed to be typhoon. I can't believe I never caught that. I've even been saying typhoon in my head. Behold, the mother of all typos. WEEE. But it should all be fixed now. Durh. Thanks for pointing out my extreme stupidity._

_Yes. That's right. Two months after the original ended, I bring you the sequel to My Impractical Hurricane. I'm sure everyone's forgotten about it by now…But in the case that anyone still cares, yes, I've written a sequel. _

_Alright now, well I've got a lot to do, so the next chapter of this story may take a week or so to put up. So I hope it's a decent introduction._

_Much love!_

* * *

It would not be fair, per say, to call this an average day among the household of the Fantastic Four, because, let's face it, things hadn't been normal here since day one. And as far as normal went among a gang of genetically mutated super heroes, things in the current could be considered especially abnormal at that. From whence our favorite band of awkward scientists pals last tread, things were in a rather hazardous way. Had the world four definite corners, we could have been sure that our characters hid from one another isolated in each. Never had a home been such an emotional war zone!

And what was the cause of all this mayhem? This atrocity? This impractical hurricane of events? Well if we stop a moment and delve into the darkened, cobweb covered recesses of our minds (or the archives of our fanfiction), we fall back upon a strange little incident that took place several weeks ago between two particular members of the team. Now before this, we could be under a great many impressions about normality. For instance, we usually like to assume that straight men do not kiss other straight men. And likewise, a similar impression to be pinned under was of the like that gay men did not sleep around with women or intend to marry them. It seemed that both of these generalities had been betrayed in this specific situation. And it had all started with one, simple, surely innocent kiss.

Of course, it had ended with a few more that were far from simple and the very opposite of anything innocent, but we like to think of these things as at least starting _off_ on the right foot, don't we?

But enough delay—for what we really yearn to know is where, how, when, and why, our poor Reed Richards and Johnny Storm are faring in the midst of things. And just what Ben Grimm and a very rightly pissed Sue Storm are up to in the aftermath…

"Do you always eat off of other people's plates?" Reed fixed his teammate with a good-natured glower, resting his elbows over the counter next to his violated breakfast.

"Frh?" Johnny offered him one of those pure and simple '_what?_' looks as he gnawed at a corner of Reed's toast.

"Never mind." Reed chuckled and shook his head, taking up his paper again.

"Hey why do you read that thing, anyway?" Johnny huffed as he flicked Reed's newspaper, mouth full.

Reed blinked as the latest mundane gasoline-crisis article before his eyes was rudely shifted out of focus. "I have a vested interest in the world." He muttered.

"Any pictures of me?" Johnny snorted and continued eating a bowl of cereal that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere from where he leaned against the counter.

"Not today." Reed lied. Actually, there were five, but he wasn't about to invite another interruption. He knew Johnny wasn't that interested all the same—he was only nosing for some attention. How he loved to be the center of attention. Apparently he wasn't even above being jealous of a daily newspaper.

"Seriously? …I should do some more publicity stunts." Johnny nodded to himself.

"For what?" Reed looked up with a laugh.

Johnny gave him a look. "Uh, publicity?"

"I don't know, Johnny. If you're out there too much, the public might get tired of you." Reed pointed out. He himself could live perfectly fine if he never had his picture taken again.

"Tired of me? _Who's_ tired of me?" Johnny scoffed in offense.

"I think Ben might be a little tired of you." Reed turned the page and smirked, as he could practically feel the irritation radiating off of Johnny.

"Like he counts." Johnny scowled, jumping up to sit on the counter.

"If it's any consolation, I'm sure there're others too." Reed shrugged and continued reading.

"Aw…you're not tired of me, are you?" Johnny joked, putting on a sad face.

"I don't know; you _are_ bothering me while I'm reading."

"Am I?" Johnny casually swiped a finger along Reed's paper, upon which a flame caught. "Gee, sorry."

Reed jumped a little and instantly dropped it onto his plate, patting the fire out quickly. "Johnny!" he growled.

"Oops." Johnny murmured carelessly as he chewed, watching with disinterest.

"Setting things on fire isn't a joke." Reed fixed his eyebrows and glared. Out of all the abilities in the world, why did _Johnny_ have to get the one that was the _most_ dangerous? What kind of God condones such irony?

"It is when it puts that look on your face." Johnny grinned devilishly, leaning forward to easily squash the remaining flames with a hand.

"Ha ha." Reed drawled sarcastically, looking down at his burnt paper in dismay.

Johnny just kept grinning at him, and Reed couldn't keep the annoyance in his features long enough. Instead, he retaliated with a cocky smile of his own, and suddenly Johnny's grin faded into a nervous gulp.

"Heya guys." Ben said as he plodded into the kitchen, eyes down on his own section of the paper.

Johnny yelped and promptly fell off the counter.

"Uh, morning Ben." Reed recovered quickly, looking down at Johnny once in alarm before quickly returning to his paper—which was now burnt and covered in the food it had been dropped into.

Ben raised his eyes to stare in confusion at Johnny heaving himself off the tile with a groan.

"Morning! Yeah! Good morning, great morning, sun shining, birds…squawking…" Johnny slurred, rubbing his head and making it a point to distance himself from Reed.

Ben blinked and looked around. "Uh…wh-did I interrupt somethin'…?" He might have gone pale had he not been forged from rock.

"Of course not." Reed responded calmly.

"No!" Johnny squeaked.

"…Right…" Ben shifted uncomfortably and took his usual seat at the counter, resigning his eyes to some long article purposefully.

"So Ben," Reed started. "How are things? Didn't you go out last night?"

Ben looked up for a moment and sighed gravelly. "Yeah. It was alright. 'Cept there's this rat that can't seem to keep his hands off Alicia. You don't know what I woulda given to crack the little pervert's skull between my fingers, but I figured we don't need _that_ kinda publicity. So I had to send him walkin'. Hey, what kinda sick jerk feels up a blind girl anyway, huh?" Ben went off into a series of aggressive mutters as he ground his teeth.

Reed personally winced at the thought of how many lawsuits they had avoided. Between Ben and Johnny's different breeds of carelessness, they were lucky they weren't out on the streets by this point. "Well, hopefully you were enough to scare him off." Reed said empathetically.

"I don't know. You think it's a coincidence I saw this twerp three times? Huh. The funny thing is, back when I was normal, I coulda done more about it. Now Alicia says I got some kinda unfair advantage. I say, you look at the guy and tell me I didn't have that in the first place. Can't weigh more than a hundred pounds, the little…"

"Alright, take it easy, Ben." Reed patted him on the shoulder and pushed him a cup of coffee.

"Well if it were me, I'd'a knocked him flat. No one makes a move on one of Johnny's girls, you can count on that." Johnny thumped his chest proudly and struck a studly pose.

"Surprise surprise, the stag has antlers." Ben shook his head, then paused. "What girls, anyway?" he gave a bemused sort of squint and glanced at Reed. "I thought you weren't into girls anymore."

Reed coughed a little on his next swallow and froze, eyes traveling cautiously towards Johnny. _Uh oh…_

Johnny was staring back at Ben in both shock and anger. Naturally, the anger took over. He dropped the bowl he was eating out of hard onto the counter and quickly stormed out of the kitchen.

"Hey, kid—wait a sec! I-I wasn't tryin' a'be…ah, forget it…" Ben grimaced and put hand to his head in exasperation. "I knew it'd been too long since someone ran from the room…I don't get it, what'd I say?"

Reed sighed and looked after the path Johnny had taken. "He's sort of…sensitive…about the issue…" was all he could think to say, feeling himself going terribly red. It started out to be such a nice morning, too.

"Maybe you wanna explain the situation to me? Look Reed, I've been pretty decent about this whole thing so far, but if things don't start makin' sense, my head's gonna pop." Ben tossed a hand up and landed it on the counter a little too hard, causing a rattle. "I'm walkin' on eggshells, and you can imagine how well that goes over with these feet."

Reed ran a hand through his hair and snorted. "I don't know what to tell you. I guess…it's like this: he likes girls, I like girls…he likes me…I like him…" he swallowed and quickly shoved some food into his mouth.

"Oh, uh," Ben held up a hand. "Bisexual, that's the term. Right?"

Reed almost choked yet again. "Er, n…No, not…not really…"

Ben seemed to be supremely irritated at that. "Oh. Fine. Then what the Hell is it? Who's the woman, you or him?"

Reed narrowed his eyes in an aggravated fashion. "Neither of us, it's…Well now do you see how complicated it is?"

"Sure." Ben huffed and carefully picked up his cup with massive fingers. "Whatever you say."

"Johnny doesn't like other guys, so he doesn't like the idea of being called gay." Reed shrugged a shoulder a little. It seemed simple, in a completely insane way.

"What, and you do?" Ben prodded.

"…I'm not. At least, I don't think. I don't know, maybe none of us are completely straight." Reed offered lastly.

"Hey, speak for yourself." Ben quipped instantly. "I'll admit, okay, for girls or somethin', Johnny might be a good lookin' kid, alright? But Mr. America himself couldn't turn _my_ head."

"Okay, Ben. Just not you." Reed smirked and shook his head. "So…have you…Um, I mean lately, have you…"

"Talked to Sue?" Ben finished knowingly.

Reed lowered his head.

Ben gave him the best understanding nod he could. "Yeah. She seems…uh, okay, I guess."

"She's still mad?" Reed felt sure that he didn't really need to ask that.

"Wouldn't you be?"

"…Yeah, I…guess so." Reed sighed deeply, abandoning the breakfast that Johnny had eaten most of anyway. "I just wish she would at least agree to talk to me."

"She will eventually. Sue's got a hot temper like her brother, but she'll cool off. It's only been a couple a'weeks."

"Has it only been that long?" Reed rubbed his face and thought back. It felt more like months to him.

"Yeah, it's been kinda rough." Ben agreed. "Hey, I'll tell you what. Why don't I take you out tonight? You know, have a couple a'drinks, hang out, talk about old times. Take your mind offa things."

"I don't know, Ben, I've got…" Reed sighed through his nose and started to shake his head.

"Come on, Reed, you haven't been outta this house in weeks." Ben elbowed him.

"That's not true, I went out on Wednesday. Remember?" Reed defended, suddenly finding it very important to prove Ben wrong.

"To the store." Ben reminded flatly. "To buy toilet paper."

Reed rested his head down on the counter. "Okay, fine, if you think it'll make things better, sure. Tonight, you and me."

"Great. It's a date." Ben muttered. They both suddenly stilled in an uncomfortable moment as they slowly met one another's eyes. In the next moment, they were laughing hysterically.


	2. Chapter 2

**Straight Up Typhoon – 2**

_Hey! I remember you guys! I love you. Thanks for reviewing. Here's chapter two. Some of the chapters are just a tad short, as a warning, but overall, this story IS longer than My Impractical Hurricane. And also, more action-packed! Whoo! …Um, yeah._

* * *

Reed always knew where to find Johnny. It came from a great deal of experience involving the younger's many, though brief, temper tantrums. In any case, the living room seemed to be a popular retreat these days for anyone looking to be alone. This was because the living room was more often than not the most social room in a house, and when trying to avoid one another, it was a room that was likewise avoided. Therefore, when the room was known to be avoided, it was the perfect solace for those looking to avoid those that would avoid contact by avoiding that particular room. An ironic logic, but a logic nonetheless. "I thought I'd find you here." Reed did his best to make his voice gentle.

Johnny didn't say anything, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall like a rejected teenager as he glared daggers at Reed.

"Come on, you're not mad at me, too, are you?" Reed put his hands on his hips and sighed.

Johnny looked away and scuffed a foot slightly against the ground. "Not mad." He grunted.

"Johnny, Ben wasn't trying to be funny." Reed explained. "Really, he wasn't. He didn't mean anything by it, this is all just a little weird for him."

"Yeah well he's not the only one." Johnny flipped up a hand and continued his sulking.

"I didn't think we'd be getting into this so early in the morning." Reed scratched his head and thought for a moment. "So why don't we just…change the subject."

"Tactful. I like it." Johnny agreed.

"What were your plans today?" Reed leaned casually against an adjacent wall.

Johnny's moping expression slowly changed and he raised his eyebrows. "I was thinking about buying a motorcycle."

Reed made a noticeable twinge. Johnny didn't _think_ about things—he outright did, bought, or destroyed them on impulse. There was a track record three miles long to prove it. So apparently there was to be a new motorcycle in the next twenty-four hours. One more thing for Sue to yell at him over, one more thing for Ben to roll his eyes at, and one more thing for the local authorities to watch out for. "…Motorcycles are dangerous." Well damned if that didn't just fall right out of his mouth. As if such a statement could possibly mean anything to reckless danger personified.

"Yeah. So is fire." Johnny said, that very much evil smirk in his eyes. "Don't daddy-speech me on this." He paused. "I'm buying a helmet, too."

"And I guess that's supposed to make me feel better." Reed sighed. "Don't you give me enough to worry about?"

"Then don't worry so much. If you aren't careful, it's bound to give you some serious gray hairs." He mocked, the smartass grin he was sporting just a little too comfortable on his face. "Why, what are you doing? …Maybe you wanna come with?"

"Oh, I…well Ben wanted to hang out tonight." Reed cleared his throat, unconsciously touching at a silver streak on the side of his head. "Er, but I guess I can put it off and—"

"W-no, uh, w-why do that?" Johnny aimlessly wandered away from him as though he were in a hurry to get somewhere. Clearly the idea of Reed breaking off other plans to spend time with him was, as of yet, freakishly uncomfortable. "I got my plans, you got yours, you and Rocky, me and my ride… We'll rendezvous sometime next Tuesday—share war stories."

"Right…" Reed chuckled. "If that's what you want."

"Sure…now, if you'll excuse me, the Torch has some shopping to do." Johnny backed away.

"Okay…so…" Reed daringly followed him, stopping a couple of steps in front of him as though merely intending to take the same exit. "I guess I'll be gone by the time you get back."

"Yep. Guess so." Johnny's eyes glanced back and forth before looking back to Reed.

"So I'll see you." Reed swallowed slightly. "Later."

"Later, yeah." Johnny nodded.

"Great…so until…" Reed slowly leaned forward, tilting his head a ways. "…then…"

Johnny parted his lips a little and moved to receive the kiss—

"Reed!" Ben's voice practically rattled the hallways. "What happened to the phone? Swear I put the damn thing…"

"Uh…Well, so, later then, see ya pal." Johnny knocked Reed in the shoulder with a fist and quickly retreated out of the room.

"Yeah but—" Reed held up a hand and stammered hopelessly, furrowing his brow before slumping in exasperation. "…Hmff…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Straight Up Typhoon – 3**

_Booyah! I bitch slap y'all with a chapter three. Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys rock! I'm so happy that people are actually interested in a sequel at this point!_

* * *

For those of us who have been graced/cursed with siblings, we understand that there are certain connections between us and them that are as unbreakable as they are irritating. We know their likes and dislikes whether we want to or not, we're forced to remember their birthdays, we know their traits, habits, and most of their secrets, and we have an uncanny ability to sense one another's presence wherever we happen to be. Sue and Johnny Storm were no exception to these phenomena. Of course, it was blatantly easy for anyone to sense Johnny's presence at any given moment, the flamboyant nuisance that he was.

At the current time, Sue was simply trying to pretend that said brother was miles and miles away in some far off land of cars and busty women—so long as he was not here, perched atop a desk, clunking his legs back and forth against it while she was trying to concentrate. It wasn't as though spending time with him was such a chore in and of itself, but Johnny, like most brothers, had a knack for requesting her attention when she least wanted to give it. When Johnny had come into the room, she had resolved to ignore him. After all, with things being as awkward between them as they had as of late, Sue really preferred to keep their conversations to a minimal. Normally she would tell him to buzz off, and even then he hardly listened to her, but remaining quiet only seemed to make the situation worse. Was it so unreasonable just to be able to use the computer in peace without someone looking over your shoulder?

"Ssssso…whatcha doin'?" he chirped from behind her, eating out of a can of chili where he sat on the desk.

Sue sighed, blowing a stray chunk of hair away from her face. "For the third time, I'm writing an E-mail."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Still?"

"Yeah. Still." She replied, eyes locked to the screen.

"To who?"

"Someone." By this point, she was half-tuning him out.

"…Who's someone?"

"No one you know." She leaned her chin down on her palm with every intent to ignore him. He couldn't stay there forever. Eventually he would get bored, or have to go to the bathroom, or run out of chili. Maybe she would even get lucky, and the phone would ring for him.

"Sue?"

Mother of God. "What, Johnny?"

"Are you looking at porn? …'cause you can tell me if you are."

"Would you shut up for five minutes?" she snapped back. She didn't know how he could be so bold as to be bothering her now. Was he really going to go the route of pretending nothing was wrong between them? She wasn't about to let him do that, but then again, she wasn't about to get into another fight, either. She was tired of the fighting and the yelling. Actually, all things considered, she was just as tired of being alone, but it seemed to be a better alternative than drawing this issue out in the open yet again. She hadn't talked to Reed yet. Not that he deserved it, the cheating bastard…She didn't even really know how to handle Johnny right now, let alone Reed. Wait, wait a minute…he was quiet…Sue slowly paused with her hand over the mouse, listening carefully for a few moments. When she heard nothing, she let out a relieved sigh and went back to what she was working on.

"So is Victor still on your buddy list?"

Sue turned over a shoulder to give him a deadly look. "Did you want to use the computer, Johnny?"

Johnny stopped chewing. "…Nope."

"Then why are you here?" she demanded. Wasn't he scheduled for his usual late night barhopping?

Johnny swallowed heavily and jammed his spoon back into the can. "I dunno. The others are out."

"So?" she swiveled around in her chair. "What, are you looking for quality time or something?"

Johnny lowered his head and wiped his mouth with a sleeve. "Uh..."

"I'm busy right now. Go away." With that, she turned back to the computer. She admitted she was being a little harsh, but…well, didn't she have every right to be?

"Sue, come on…" she could hear him slide off the desk, his feet hitting the floor with a thump. "Let's go do something, you and me."

"Not interested." She decided.

"…Please? Look, it doesn't have to be anything big. We can…go to the store, or-or go to a movie—I'll let you drive my new motorcycle!"

Sue turned back. "Your new _what_?"

Johnny grimaced. "Um…Okay, so I'm guessing that wasn't the greatest time to bring it up."

"Johnny…" Sue groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead.

"You say that now, but you wait 'til you see her." Johnny defended. "And anyway, just for a few hours. Like old times…"

"Oh old times?" she crossed her arms and stared him down. "Like before you and my ex-fiancé were screwing each other?"

His chest instantly sank, eyes widening. "W-what? We never—!" Johnny panicked, his voice taking on a nervously shrill tone.

"I don't care. Like I said," she waved a hand to dismiss him rather coldly. "I'm busy."

And at that, there was finally the silence she'd been waiting for. However, when at last Johnny's slow, hesitant footsteps faded back down the hall, and the room was deserted and quiet enough to work in…she didn't really feel nearly as satisfied as she thought she would.


	4. Chapter 4

**Straight Up Typhoon – 4**

_Wow, it's fun being inattentive! Lord, I've left brain cells all over this country._

* * *

"I don't know, Ben, it's not that I don't want to help people." Reed shook his head and took another drink of his beer, resting his arms back on the table with a sigh. "But super hero? I mean…are you really comfortable with that title?"

Ben took a drink as well, scanning up at the sky for a moment from where he sat across from Reed at their outside table. The bar itself seemed a little too crowded, and so they had sought refuge outdoors, even as cold out as it was. "Hey, I was the one who was least okay with this whole mess, if you remember."

Reed nodded with a faint smile and fiddled with the label on his bottle. "I remember. I'm not talking about the publicity, or the fans, or the endorsement offers and the utter lack of privacy…"

"Not that any of those are icing on the cake."

"Right. What's really bothering me is the expectations. What exactly does this 'profession' entail? You know what I mean, don't you?" he held out a hand.

"Sure." Ben nodded. "I walk down the streets and people expect me to pound somethin'."

"What are we supposed to do? Roam the streets looking for petty thugs and drunk drivers? I know there's nothing we can do about how the public sees us, but I just wish they could see us for what we really are. Not what they read in comic books or see in movies."

"So what _are_ we?" Ben prodded.

Reed blinked. "Scientists."

"I guess 'super hero' just has a better ring to it." Ben muttered and drank.

"I might've imagined fame and fortune, but…not like this." Reed admitted. "I always thought that I would do something big. Something great, something that benefit the good of mankind long after I was gone."

"And you'd get your name in a little plaque and everything." Ben offered a bit sardonically.

"I just don't like the idea of my fame being based purely off of my image. That's all."

"At least you're the leader of this outfit, ain't ya? Besides, just think about those of us who never wanted to be famous at all." Ben suddenly squinted past Reed's shoulder as though seeing something familiar. "…And who says people got a false image of us, anyhow? Didn't we save a lot a'lives that night? Vic went nuts pretty hard."

Reed sat back a little. "Yeah…I guess so. But are we really up for doing that sort of thing again?"

"If we have to, yeah." Ben decided. "Look on the bright side; at least kids don't run from you."

Reed smirked and chuckled in protest. "Ben, the kids love you."

"Nah, nah," Ben leaned back and laughed as well. "The kids love Johnny."

Reed rolled his eyes slightly and muttered to himself as he took another drink. "Everyone loves Johnny."

"Not everyone." Ben grunted back.

"You know you love him, Ben." Reed jested. "That's why you hate him so much."

"…Sometimes the kid's alright. _Some_times. But it ain't like I'm linin' up to kiss him." Ben raised an accusing brow.

"Yeah, yeah." Reed set his beer down and crossed his arms.

"Hey, check it out." Ben gave a slight head nod over Reed's shoulder, which he had been glancing over repeatedly in the last few minutes.

Reed threw a glance over as well. "What is it?"

"That scrawny twerp right there. One with the turtleneck who flirts like he thinks he's Brad Pitt's long lost twin." Ben this time used the aid of a gesturing finger. "That's the punk who's been botherin' Al."

Reed followed Ben's direction and set eyes upon this supposed offender. True to the description, he was a rather smallish figure, likely not five foot five with an almost toned build and clothes that clung tightly to his less than impressive frame. He had clearly over-gelled hair and an unusually dark set of eyebrows, and was spouting out some loud, flirtatious jargon to a group of girls who justly weren't paying him much mind. That turtleneck and khaki shorts combination wasn't helping his image, either. He was certainly nothing pretty to look at, by any standards. Turning back to Ben, Reed smiled slowly. "You're kidding…"

"I wish."

"…Well…he looks…charming."

"So you see my problem." Ben took a heavy drink and sighed.

"You could never pull off that ensemble?" Reed asked dryly. Oh God, he hoped Johnny wasn't starting to rub off on him.

"I sneeze and I might kill him. I gotta be real careful." Ben explained. "And careful ain't exactly what I always been good at. Especially when some little meat head's movin' in on my girl."

"Maybe Alicia will knock his head in and save you the trouble." Reed suggested.

Ben chuckled. "She could take him. Al's sweet, but she ain't no pacifist."

"So then things are working out with you two." Reed gathered, rubbing his hands a little in an absent search for friction.

Ben hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, actually. They are. Imagine that." He smiled at stared off. For a while, neither of them said anything, but it was a comfortable silence and one that they were accustomed to. "So uh, guess it would be pretty stupid for me to question your love life, eh?"

Reed gave a sheepish shrug. "There's nothing to tell that you don't already know…I guess uh…" Reed looked around and caught sight of the many people who were whispering at one another with eyes locked onto the two of them. "…Well maybe we could save these conversations for less public places…"

Ben quickly caught on. "Oh—er, right." He self-consciously slouched a little and gestured to Reed's drink. "You want another one?"

"I think I'll quit while I'm ahead." Reed shook his head.

"Yeah, guess you're right." Ben agreed, and they stood, suddenly both very much willing to part ways with their on-looking crowd. As Reed looked back over a shoulder, he managed to catch one particular little twerp giving them a good size-up before they walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Straight Up Typhoon – 5**

_Uh…five!_

…

_I wuv you._

* * *

"Ohhhh, Johnny…" Reed sighed, placing a hand to his forehead as he looked down at the sleek blue vehicle parked on the street before him.

"You like her?" Johnny straddled his motorcycle backwards, resting his arms over the end of it as he looked up at Reed with a little grin. "I call her Sally."

"Of course you do…" Reed picked up the helmet hanging over the edge of it and examined the street lights from the reflection of the visor.

"Look, you might not approve of our relationship, but the fact is that I love her, and we're gonna be together as long as we both shall live." Johnny vowed, stroking over the back fondly.

"You're crazy." Reed decided.

"I actually get that a lot." Johnny nodded and took his helmet back, fixing it onto his head. "Wanna go for a ride?"

"I really don't."

"Come on, everyone's turned me down today…" Johnny pleaded.

"I don't blame them." Reed crossed his arms. "You shouldn't even be street legal."

"Jealous!" Johnny accused.

"Whatever, Johnny, if it makes you happy, you go on ahead. But you'll excuse those of use who value our lives a little more than a screaming metal death trap, won't you?" he thumped Johnny's helmet firmly.

Johnny wobbled and giggled, holding a hand to his head to steady himself. "So Mr. Richards, what _is_ it like to be the most boring man in America?"

Reed frowned. "I'm not boring." He said defiantly.

"Yes you are. You're a boring, dorky, geeky scientist. That's your thing."

"Alright, well don't go so easy on me." Reed muttered sarcastically.

"Oh and also nerdy, and your super ability is freakish. And I bet you snore, too."

"…Wow…"

Johnny shifted uncomfortably, murmuring to himself a little. "…You're…Well, come on, you're supposed to insult me back, you know?"

"I am?"

"Yeah. This is the part where you say I'm reckless and brainless and cocky and stuff." He waited expectantly.

"If you know that already, what do you need me for?" he smiled in a purposefully arrogant fashion.

"That's right, and you're pompous, too." Johnny reminded.

"Yikes. Is there anything you _like_ about me?"

Johnny paused, eying Reed hatefully before letting out a grumble. "Sure…you know…"

"I don't think I do."

"Come on…"

"Well alright, at least I know all the bad things about me now." Reed rubbed his chin and faked a depressed sigh.

"O-okay, uh…well, you're like, super smart and stuff. And um…you're a pretty nice guy. You…you know, you care about stuff that's…good. Plus you're…you're um…" he cleared his throat to prevent his voice from cracking.

"Don't strain yourself."

"You're good-looking, okay? I guess. I mean, I'm no judge when it comes to guys, I don't know!" Johnny must've been blushing something awful under that helmet by this point. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure." Reed bit back a laugh.

"So I take it you and Rocko had a grand old time."

"How many nicknames do you have for Ben, anyway?"

"_Tons_." Johnny pulled off his helmet and set it aside. "A list of which includes Mr. Thing, Goliath, Shrek, Boulder Butt, Concrete Cowboy, The Inconceivable Bulk, The Stone Ranger, The Ornery Orange Ogre, Orange County—or the O.C. for short—"

"Okay, you know…tons, I'll take your word for it."

"I have nicknames for you too."

"I don't even want to know." Reed dismissed instantly. "So how do you think Sue's going to take this whole bike thing?"

Johnny quickly lowered his head, a guilty little flicker passing over his face. "She knows."

"Oh." Reed said, rather surprised. Usually Johnny was willing to wait until people stumbled upon his evil-doings as opposed to bringing them to attention. "Was she mad?"

"Well…no." he looked down at his hands, absently fingering a ridge of metal. "She didn't even…Whatever, she doesn't care."

Reed felt some kind of mix between guilt and sympathy as he absorbed this dilemma. Sue always cared. She was always there to chew Johnny out for being an idiot or point out his obviously dangerous habits. The fact that she hadn't on this occasion seemed unnerving, and he could see where that one simple neglect might hurt. "Sure she does." He offered.

"You weren't there, you don't see the way she…" Johnny looked up and met Reed's eyes before quickly casting them down again. "Ah, she hates me."

"No one hates you." Reed countered. "Least of all Sue."

"I don't mean _hates_ me hates me, just…I really screwed up…" he swallowed and nodded.

"It's just as much my fault. Maybe even more." Reed said, attempting to defend him from himself. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

"But…it's _bad_." Johnny blinked and thrust out a hand. "And what makes it worse is that it wasn't even a one-time thing, you know? At least I guess not. 'Cause we're still…" he looked between himself and Reed stiffly.

"I sort of like to think of that as the only good part. Not being just the one-time thing, I mean. It's not like we were just being…promiscuous…right?" Reed rubbed the back of his neck and looked around. It always felt like people were watching them. Usually, that was because people were.

"Oh." Johnny paused. "Sure, um…I guess so."

"Yeah."

…

Well, there it was. That awkward feeling between them. Reed was no good with displaying his emotions, and if so, it was usually at the wrong place or time. Where a normal person might touch, kiss, or otherwise invite affection, Reed simply stared and waited for something to happen. It wasn't as though they were shy from the paranoia of even being seen together outside either, so even the mention of their current situation above a whisper was worth a panic attack. Not that they seemed to be much less nervous when at home. Whether they were alone or not, the fear that someone would walk in at any minute had been permanently ingrained into their senses by example of their first experience. Which put their current relationship at a frustratingly platonic state.

"Guess I'll go up." Reed broke the silence. "You coming?"

"Yeah, uh…yeah, I'll be up in a few." Johnny nodded and pulled himself up off his bike as Reed turned to go. "…Goodnight?" he called after.

Reed looked back at Johnny, smiling even through the tension. "Sure..." he turned and began making his way back upstairs, muttering to himself, "Why shouldn't it be…?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Straight Up Typhoon – 6**

_Thanks for the reviews! I'm currently working on the last chapter, so you shouldn't have to worry about this fic up and quitting. There are fifteen. Finally, a nice number. As opposed to twelve or forty-three. _

* * *

"So what do you think of this one? Hey, Sue?"

Sue quickly shook out of her trance and turned back to face Alicia. "Yeah? What? Sorry."

"This one." she tilted her head slightly, holding out the dress that was clutched in her hands. "Ben says it looks good, but excuse me if I want a women's opinion." She chuckled. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, I was just—" Sue blinked, shaking her head and feeling foolish. "It looks great, yeah, definitely."

"You sure?" Alicia felt her fingers through the material, nodding. "Okay, well, how much?"

Ben offered a gentle hand from behind her and grasped the tag. "Let's see here, uh…" he squinted down slightly, but his eyes quickly widened, mouthing some clearly large number to himself. "Uh, l-lucky us, it's on sale." He lied outright.

"Oh. Great." She shrugged and turned to him with a smile. "You know Ben, you don't have to buy me anything. I do just fine on my own, thanks."

"Yeah, I know." Ben chuckled almost nervously. "But hey, can't a guy treat you nice every now and then?"

"It's not like you're falling behind on that." She grinned and mock-punched him, at which he pretended to be greatly wounded. "Hey…Sue? Sue, hello, earth to Sue…I know you're still there."

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, no, I think three-hundred's fine for that." Sue quickly replied.

Alicia paused for a moment, her smile dropping. "Three-_hundred_?"

Ben immediately interjected with a panicked expression. "No, no, uh, hey, Sue, y-you must be lookin' at the wrong dress!" he insisted, giving her a funny look.

"What? Oh—oh, right! You're right, no, that one's…" Sue tossed out a hand and gave a weak laugh. "Much cheaper."

"Are you okay, Sue?" Alicia broke in.

"Sure. Fine." She agreed, but then sighed, noting how unbelievable her tone sounded. "…I don't know, maybe I just didn't really feel as up to going out as I thought."

"Come on, Suzie." Ben objected. "You haven't been out with us in ages."

"I know, I know. You're right, I'm just spacing out is all." Sue assured, sweeping the hair from her face tiredly.

"Well snap out of it, we're losing you." Alicia laughed, groping a hand out for a moment before she found Ben's shoulder. "I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. What do you say we get outta here?"

"Sounds great." Ben agreed. "You ladies just stay here, I'm gonna go get this boxed up." He awkwardly took the delicate dress into his massive hands and moved away to the front desk.

Alicia turned back to Sue with a smile. "He's somethin', huh?"

"Ben? Yeah. He's great." Sue returned rather methodically. Not that Ben wasn't great, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate on such things.

"Sue…" Alicia started, hesitating for a long moment. "…look, can I ask if something's wrong without getting up into your business?"

Sue blinked, mouth opening as she struggled for something to say. "Things are…normal." Normal, yes indeed, things had never been normaler. Super heroes, super villains, maddening publicity, cheating fiancés, back-stabbing brothers, a _bitch_ of a flu…

"You just don't seem like…you, lately."

"Yeah, I know, I guess I've just got…a lot on my mind." Sue blinked and furrowed her brow, suddenly wondering just how much of the whole mess Ben had relayed to Alicia. Did she know anything about it? Part of her dared to hope she didn't. The less people who knew about this incident the better.

"Alright, come on, let's move." Ben said as he returned, ushering them back to the door. "This place is startin' to feel a little…cramped."

Sue's eyes traveled back behind Ben, where an excitedly chatting crowd was beginning to gather at the clerk's desk. It was an easy guess as to what the commotion was about. "I miss being nobody…" she muttered.

"Tell me about it." Ben grunted, and they shuffled quickly out of the department store.

"Don't sweat it, Ben." Alicia assured as she patted a shoulder, allowing him to lead her out into the cold night air. "Even I get funny looks all the time. Just gotta brush it off."

"People uh…look at you funny?" Ben replied warily, obviously wondering how she could know something like that—and just who these people were and if she could give him their names.

"Sure. I mean, what with me dating a celebrity and all." She grinned.

Sue smirked slightly and shook her head, scanning her surroundings with thoughts that tried to focus more cheerily on her friends as opposed to her currently disastrous relationship with Reed and Johnny.

"How're you dealing with your fame and fortune, Sue?" Alicia asked conversationally.

"…Well I'm still waiting on that fortune part." She murmured. "But other than the having to watch everything I say, do, or buy, and being whistled at and hounded on by sleazy scumbags, and having my picture taken every five seconds and being talked about on T.V. and having kids ask me to turn invisible on the streets everywhere I turn…sure, I guess everything else is just fine."

"Aha." Alicia nodded. "It can't be all bad, can it?"

"…I guess being thought of as a hero can't be the worst thing in the world." Sue agreed. "But I mean the nerve of some people. Some jerk actually asked me my favorite sexual position. In broad daylight, on the sidewalk! Just because I'm famous I'm not entitled to an ounce of privacy?"

"Hey, you think _you_ get weird sex questions…" Ben huffed with a chuckle. "You don't even wanna know the things I get asked. Here good?" he gestured up to the restaurant they were currently walking past, where a small line was formed outside to get in. "Probably less crowded then most places right about now."

"Why not?" Sue shrugged and folded her arms, forcing a quick shiver to warm up and joining the line with Ben and Alicia.

"Well hey there!" greeted a sudden loud voice, and Sue practically jumped a foot in the air. Holding a hand to her chest, she turned with wide eyes to the previously unseen figure near her—a rather short fellow with slicked back hair.

"Oh, gosh, sorry. I uh, didn't see you." Sue apologized quickly, eyes finding Ben and Alicia who both held considerably odd expressions.

"It's no problem." Shrugged the man with a wide grin. "Hi. I'm Roger." He held out a hand, which, after a brief vacillation, Sue skeptically shook.

"Listen pal," Ben's voice came from behind her, one of his hands gently taking her by the shoulder and moving her away. "I thought I told you to take a hike."

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Hulk!" the short man laughed, holding up his hands. "Can't a guy stand in line? This is just a…" his gaze veered over to meet Alicia with a certain glint. "happy coincidence."

"Coincidence my foot." Ben argued back with an unconvinced expression.

"And anyway, I was talking to the lady." Roger motioned a hand towards Sue, who was looking mighty confused at the moment. "So what's your name?"

"You _know_ who she is." Ben said with another warning leer, leaning purposefully back into Roger's direct line of sight.

"What are you, her Daddy? She isn't allowed to talk to new people?"

"First off, you ain't new. 'Least not to me. And second," Ben prodded him just slightly in the chest with a massive finger. "Don't think I don't know what you're tryin' a'pull here. You've been tailing Alicia for the past week now. You think I don't see you?"

"Oh so what, a super hero decides he likes all _my _old hangouts and suddenly I can't go out anymore?" Roger laughed again with a false joviality.

"Come on, Ben, let's go." Alicia pleaded from behind, her voice uncharacteristically stony.

Sue watched the scene with the distinct feeling of being left out of something. Alicia hadn't said anything about a stalker, which this new acquaintance clearly appeared to be. "Yeah, we'll find somewhere else to eat." She encouraged nevertheless.

"I've had it with this twerp followin' you around." Ben refused, not taking his eyes from said twerp.

"Did you ever consider that maybe Ally and I were friends?" Roger gave an innocent shrug.

"Did you ever consider that maybe I could bust your head like a rotten peach?" Ben leaned in closer.

"Hey, there's no need to get violent."

"I'm beginnin' to think there is."

"Ben, come on." Sue interjected this time, tugging on his arm a little.

"Okay, fine." Ben calmed himself and tossed up a hand. "Look here, Roger. You so much as look at Al funny from here on out—"

"You'll what?" Roger grinned. "Hit me? That might be kind of funny, you know?" he chuckled and shoved his hands down into his pockets. "I bet the press would get a kick out of it."

Ben had a dangerous look in his eye before Alicia stopped him, her tone casual. "Try a restraining order, Rog." She said with a phony smile. "And if that don't work, you won't have to worry about Ben. I'll take care of you myself."

"Ooh baby." Roger returned in amusement, a perverted smirk on his face.

"Let's go." Sue said again, giving a glare of her own to their new disturbance.

"Yeah, I'm goin'." Ben sneered once more at Roger before the three of them backed off.

"Okay, well, seeing as how you're busy," Roger smiled broadly and held up a hand in a wave. "I'll see you later, Ally!"

Ben clenched a fist, noticeably steamed by that last remark as the trio ambled away. "I tell ya, that guy really burns me up." He growled. "Gimme Johnny any day, at least that kid ain't a sick little horndog who can't take a hint."

Sue rolled her eyes a little. "Wanna rethink that one, Ben?"

Ben stiffened slightly, hesitating on his next step and glancing between Sue and Alicia uncomfortably. "Uh…er, Sue, I didn't mean—"

"No, it's okay, I didn't mean for that to sound so…" Sue apologized immediately, feeling uncomfortable. "I was just kidding…"

"Oh. …Right." Ben nodded and took Alicia's arm, who remained quiet with a curious expression.

"So has that guy really been following you Alicia?" Sue asked quickly, eager to change the subject before questions could be asked.

"Him? Yeah." Alicia snorted and brushed it off, shaking her head. "He just doesn't get it. He's a harmless little punk, but damn, is he ever irritating."

"I don't know how harmless guys like him are." Ben protested. "I don't like it. Al, if he ever comes by your place again, you tell me right away, huh?"

"He knows where you live?" Sue asked in concern.

"The whole city knows where I live. Like I said," she nudged Ben, "dating a celebrity?"

"I hate to err on the side of paranoia…but I'm gonna have to agree with Ben." Admitted Sue.

"Hey, it's okay you two." Alicia held up her hands. "I can take care of myself. If it gets out of hand, believe me—you guys'll be the first to know."

Ben supplied another troubled sigh, glancing once back over his shoulder. "Yeah, I know, you're right. Can't blame me for being edgy though, can you?"

"Of course not." Alicia agreed, smiling. "Now can we find somewhere to eat already?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Straight Up Typhoon – 7**

_BAM._ _I was so bored I really had nothing to do but post another chapter. Thanks so much, my pretty pretty reviewers. :D _

_In other news, EEEE! I'M SO EXCITED! I GOT_ _A FLAME! AT LAST! XD! Just when I think the world up and got normal on me! Check it:_

"can you stop this horrific thing? huh huh? this is so stupid stop writhing my friend actully cried when she read this johnny and reed situation and i am SERIOUS she left home and i got introuble as a fan of your writng you went to far with johnny and red make them straight and then me and my friends will forgive you. here's an idea, make it that doom put a spell on johnny and reed and then johnny red or ben wake up from a dream then we wveryone wold like your story so much better thank you for you time - 'hulloits me'"

_XD! I love it! Y'all crack me up. At least, I **hope** this person's serious--otherwise it's not that funny. D: Much love 'til next time!_

* * *

Reed hit the door with a thud, jumping in shock and holding a hand to his head as he grunted. Note to self: do not find yourself so lost in concentration that you surpass your own ability to perform simple tasks. Open door, _then_ enter building—in that order. Rearmed with this affirmation of priorities, Reed muttered some incoherent curse at himself and pulled the front door open, making his way habitually across the floor and towards the elevator as he rubbed his forehead.

He _hated_ shopping. Before, his mild disliking of such a mundane task had been at a very normal and healthy level, but now, in lieu of his recently developed notoriety, it had become the bane of his everyday life. That morning, as Reed had innocently searched the fridge for some milk with which to assemble his bowl of cereal, he had been bombarded by an off-balance carton of eggs from above. Standing in the carnage of yolk and shell fragments that surrounded a now-bruised foot, watching the translucent egg mucus absorb permanently into the tiles beneath, all he could feel was the cold, icy grip on his stomach that whispered in terror the suggestion of, "_shopping_". After all, one day without eggs and his housemates were liable to erupt in the rage that followed inadequate breakfast.

And, of course, no casual stride nor scrupulous avoidance of eye-contact could spare him recognition in a crowd. Two boys of about twelve or so didn't leave the vicinity of two feet from him the entire time. People whispered, giggled, waved, and occasionally demanded an autograph like a birthright for being his reputedly devoted fans. But fans of what, he wondered. Sure, he had helped defend the city from one lunatic. But did any of them bother to look towards the scientific developments he'd made throughout this ordeal? Of course not. Who wants to solve world hunger or find an everlasting energy source when they could see someone light himself on fire, or touch the top of a streetlamp with both feet on the ground? Or crush a car with his bare hands and turn herself invisible at will? What was environment compared to entertainment, anyway? All he wanted was some damn eggs.

Blinking a few times, Reed realized he had been staring into an open elevator for a good minute at least. Note to self: see initial note to self. All his life he had wanted respect and recognition, he mused as he stepped into the elevator and pressed his floor. Now, it seemed as though he had gotten it in the worst way. But—this was life, and while he may never get used to it, he'd better learn to accept it. If Sue could cope with her underwear being sold on eBay, he could deal with a little crowding at the supermarket.

When Reed made it up to the main flat, he trudged in through the door cautiously in the case that the first face he saw was not a welcoming one. Part of him was thrilled to be receiving unwelcome vibes from Sue—she had even elevated to the level of cold glares. That had to be progression, didn't it?

"Reed?" called a voice from the living room area, and Reed stiffened nervously for a moment before registering the voice as Johnny's.

"Yeah, it's me." he returned coolly, looking towards the beckoning direction to see Johnny turned over the couch and looking at him expectantly. He took care to step around the towering stacks and cases of recently delivered cola that surrounded him. All it took was one nosy paparazzi goon and a handful of unauthorized photos downtown of Johnny drinking a Dr. Pepper for the company to send an express shipment to their doorstep the next day. Even if they never made another dime, they would never go thirsty again.

Johnny tossed what looked like a magazine away from him and sized him up quickly. "Hey. Where the Hell've you been?"

"Shopping." Reed replied, holding up a bag. God, even his voice trembled to speak that dreaded word. "Why…? Everything okay? Where are Ben and Sue?"

"They left." Johnny pointed out. "Over an hour ago, that's how long I've been waiting. Jeez, you take forever just to do a little damn shopping."

"You know how it is…" Reed replied numbly, mind still stuck on the 'they left' part. Left? Where did they go? Hell—that didn't matter. Waiting? Johnny was waiting for him? Or was he just waiting for someone to cure his boredom? Setting the bag on a conveniently located desk, Reed ambled into the living room to the back of the couch. "You were waiting for me?"

"Uh, _yeah_?" Johnny raised his eyebrows with an obvious 'duh' tone. "I mean, you know. I was bored." He shrugged, eying up at Reed with a perfected boyish innocence.

"Sorry, I didn't know they'd be gone." Reed admitted sincerely. "We haven't really been alone in…" he hid the uncomfortable shift in his voice with a small cough.

"I know." Johnny paused, looking around. "So um…you doing anything now?"

"Of course not." He answered a bit suddenly. Offering a sheepish smile, he looked down at the couch, then ambled around and sat. "How long will they be gone?"

Johnny reddened up quite a bit at that question, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging again almost imperceptibly. "I don't know. It's not like I asked."

"Right, I guess not." Reed nodded, resting his hands idly in his lap. "No plans for you tonight, I take it?"

"Nope." Johnny looked away from him, studying the walls of their home with a half-hearted interest. "I um…heard Sue and Ben were leaving, so, you know, thought maybe I'd…get some peace and quiet."

Reed almost laughed. Johnny and peace and quiet, yes, those two concepts were almost synonymous.

"What?" Johnny was suddenly fixing him with an indignant expression.

Whoops, maybe he _had_ laughed. "Nothing." He covered quickly. "How are things with you and Sally?"

Johnny tittered with a grunt. "She runs good. Why? You jealous?"

"Of you or the motorcycle?"

"Well…either?" a playful grin grew on his face, resting one arm over the back of the couch as he faced Reed.

Jealous of the object Johnny straddled and rode? Reed battled a furious blush and chuckled nervously. "I uh…I don't know." He said lamely.

Johnny seemed to be amused by that. He tilted his head a little and casually scratched his chest, settling into a more relaxed pose. "Jeez, it wasn't a serious question or anything. Do you ever get a headache from thinkin' so much about stuff?"

Reed's eyes were fixed on Johnny's chest, which was practically being fondled by this point. Damn it. Reed despised himself at the moment. He had always been able to roll his eyes and mock Johnny's stupid dalliances when it came to women. He could flirt the pants off a lesbian feminazi—and now it was actually working on _Reed_ too? So much for being able to dismiss all of those gushing girls as brainless bimbos smitten by the charisma and good looks of some dumb kid…Now, he might as well be one of them. Well _there_ was an idea that scared him almost as much as shopping. Had he been reduced to the level of a Johnny Storm fan girl? "…Uh…"

"Uh?" Johnny repeated. "Man, I know you hate shopping, but where'd you leave your brain?"

"Somewhere in isle four…when I was leaning over to grab a carton of eggs and that woman groped my behind while her friend took the picture." Reed replied dismally.

Johnny blinked in surprise and burst into a fit of laughter, clutching at his stomach for a moment. "Ha ha! You're not serious! Oh God, that's _awesome_!"

"You wouldn't think it was so awesome if it was y…" Reed mentally slapped himself. Not awesome?—Johnny would've asked for her number.

"Aw, you can't tell me you don't enjoy the attention." Johnny snorted, eying Reed with a smirk.

Reed shrugged incredulously. "Yes I can. …But I'm glad at least someone gets a laugh out of it."

"Yeah, well…come on, I'm kidding. Just, you know…" Johnny tried to contain himself before he erupted into laughter again, "watch your ass from now on!"

Reed scowled lightly and folded his arms. "Well okay, maybe you're right. Next time I'll take it as a compliment. Maybe even get a date out of it."

Johnny stopped laughing. "…Ah…Oh. Heh. Yeah."

Reed stiffened for a second, catching Johnny's subtle change in attitude. Oh that was a smart thing to say at a time like this. Mouth, you remember your good friend foot. "Er, it was a joke, I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, whatever." Johnny quickly shook his head and tried to avoid it, giving a forced grin to hide the momentarily offended notion in his features. "So…you…wanna watch movie or something…? Or…I don't know, eat dinner?"

Reed paused for a long moment. It was probably best. Sue and Ben could be home at any point in time, it really wouldn't be a good ide—screw that. Reed tripped over an impulse and landed on Johnny lips first.

"Mmf!" Johnny replied in high-pitched shock, gripping at Reed's shirt in confusion and shifting his position.

"Sorry." Reed said, pulling off. "I can't even remember the last time we were alone, or were even together, I guess I'm jus—"

"Yeah, uh-huh, great story." Johnny cut him off, forcing his lips back against where they were and pulling Reed on top of him gruffly.

Reed obligingly pushed him back onto the couch and deepened the kiss, finally free to do so without fearing that someone could see them. Johnny was rough. He battled Reed for dominance of the kiss, but made no move to relinquish his position of being pinned down. It was about damn time for this, Reed thought, or at least as much as he was currently able to think with all the blood rushing to the wrong head. They had spent so much time feeling guilty about their relationship that they seemed to have forgotten that they had one.

A heated shudder wracked Johnny's body as Reed's hands traveled up his sides, encouraging him to let out a little murmur and beckon further contact with a small nibble of a lower lip. Reed couldn't remember the last time he had been such a victim of lust. He had always controlled his desires, like any self-respecting academically inclined…geek. So was it good or bad that his inhibitions had suddenly been bound, gagged, and deep-fried by the more fierce aspects of his self control? As Johnny's knee crept up in between his legs, his body decided on a definite 'good'.

"Man…" Johnny panted when his lips were free at last, looking down as Reed's fingers began pushing up his shirt. "w-we shouldn't…be doing this now…"

"Dywanna stop?" Reed asked in a clumsy slur as he fondled his fingertips over Johnny's exposed abdomen.

Johnny leaned his head back over the arm of the couch and closed his eyes. "_Hell_ no."

Reed could clearly see how eager Johnny was. He had to hold back a stubborn blush just at the very idea that Johnny had stopped sleeping around with women the past few weeks in order to participate in this strained, awkward relationship. It was probably the longest Johnny had gone without since he was fifteen. Thusly, any hang ups he might have had about this being his first time with another man were most likely destroyed in the bodily demand for sex, and, victim to a similar plight, Reed gladly tended to him.

Johnny stifled a moan as Reed's lips went to his neck and a hand snuck further up his shirt. All it took was one light grazing of a thumb over a nipple to get Johnny arching his back, and an animalistic part of Reed was fascinated to think how easy this was going to be. And yet, even as he thought this, he was melting under the other pair of hands working up his own lower back.

They both froze in their ministrations as the distinct click of the front door echoed in an otherwise quiet home, both of them grimacing almost simultaneously. "Right on cue…" Reed muttered as he pulled Johnny's shirt back down.

"Sonofabitch…" Johnny hissed under his breath, clearing his throat to diminish the lusting purr that had been gathering there.

Reed quickly but carefully extricated himself from Johnny's body as the door opened and voices could be heard, trying his damndest to get rid of an erection with a few disturbing thoughts. Dead kittens, naked Grandma…Carrot Top—AH! Okay.

"We're back." Ben's voice stated needlessly, further announced by the resounding footsteps of their two-ton friend.

Johnny sank down further into the couch and plopped his magazine over his face, both to cover an embarrassed blush and an annoyed sneer.

"Hey guys." Reed greeted lightly, not looking in their direction so as to spare himself a death glance from Sue. As much as he had learned to appreciate acknowledgement, those eyes were still enough to turn his blood cold.

"Hey Ree—" Ben started, followed by a clunking sound and a splatter. "…d."

Reed looked up in horror.

"What'n the…who left these eggs here?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Straight Up Typhoon – 8**

_Thanks for the reviews! You guys rawk, I'm glad the last chapter was well-received because I had fun with that one. _

_Oh, oh wait! The flame continues! XD I'm so sorry to muck up space with this, but this is **priceless**!_

"ew you are still writing! i hate this i am never ging to read anyoff your stories ever again and it w as the truth! i friend did cry! don't ever make fun of that!1 make them stragiht or'lli convince my other 27 friends to stop reading you work seriously they all read y ou stories!and insted of horrici it is disqusting and just wrong stop it stop it stop it"

_Oh no! Those poor imaginary 27 people who apparently read and are fans of all my other work despite most of it being slash as well! Hey, how come those 27 imaginary people haven't reviewed any of my other stories? I guess they weren't **that** big of fans. XD! Oh look, and they've even got a response for my other lovely reviewers:_

"for you guys information i only get 10 minutes on the computer each day so i have to type fast and i did convince my friends not to read the story except for 2 people so hahahahahahahahahaha you are an idiot not only you morning hell everone who writes about me!"

_Awesome! Aw, only ten minutes on the computer, and she uses all that time on me! How sweet. :D Seriously, this person doesn't even like this story and still she takes the time to hack out a review. Now **that's** commendable. So 'hulloits me', I love you. I mean my other reviews are helpful and sweet, but these ones are genuinely entertaining._ _Oh, and also, because of her, I'm taking the word 'wveryone' and using it as my own. XD That one just killed me! _

* * *

"Toss me a soda!" Johnny whined.

"Get it yourself, kid." Ben growled once more, taking a drink of his own and sighing deeply.

"Well I can't believe this guy is still bothering you." Reed offered as he sat down on the couch, glancing at some wayward image on the television and shrugging his shoulders.

"Neither can I." Ben shook his head.

"You're closer, toss me a soda!"

"I'm really startin' to like the sound a'that restraining order. At least then I could bust the cops on his ass for stalkin' her. You shoulda seen the look on that little jerk's face, I was just itchin' to…"

"Don't worry so much about it, Ben." Reed said with a small chuckle. "You've been in a bad mood since you came home last night."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." He grumbled in return. "You'd be sore too."

"I _know_ you guys can hear me." Johnny pouted from his slumped position in a nearby lounge chair.

"Yeah, so do we. But don't ruin our fantasy." Ben replied, taking a drink.

"Then toss me a soda."

"Damnit, kid, you got a real problem." Ben picked up a can and winged it at him, which hit him hard near the shoulder and fell into his lap.

"Ow!"

"Whoa, take it easy, Ben." Reed held up a hand a little, glancing at Johnny.

Ben winced guiltily as he moved to sit on the longer couch next to Reed's. "Er, sorry Johnny boy. Don't know my own strength these days."

"Yeah, sure." Johnny scowled in returned, rubbing his bruised collar bone in a sulking manner.

"Man I'm beat." Ben said as he rested his feet up on the coffee table. "Anyone else get mobbed today?"

"I haven't been out today for just that reason." Reed offered.

"I found out that I can actually stop traffic." Johnny grinned broadly, holding his drink carefully away from him as he flinched and popped it open. It fizzed a little, but didn't explode.

"You get another ticket?" Ben asked in a skeptical tone.

"No." he snorted. "Hey, you know what I was thinkin'?"

"I try not to picture the things in your head." Ben dismissed.

"No, I was thinking we should get a pet."

"No." Reed and Ben answered together.

"Come on, why not?" Johnny tossed up one hand. "We could get a dog. Or a kitty-cat. Yeah, come on! Who hates a kitten?"

"No one." Ben agreed. "But then they grow up hackin' fur balls all over the place and _everyone_ hates 'em."

"And they shed." Reed reminded.

"Fine." Johnny sighed. "A dog?"

"You can't even take care of yourself, and you wanna mutt, too?" Ben shook his head. "How 'bout a goldfish?"

"Aw, who wants a goldfish?" Johnny grunted. "What can you do with a fish?"

"A turtle?" Reed suggested.

"Reptiles are weird." Johnny leaned back, studying his soda can lazily.

"What do we _need _a pet for, anyway?" Ben protested. "We already got you."

"Oh ha ha."

"I'm serious. You're always makin' a mess on the rug, costin' us money, humpin' people's legs—"

"Hey you son of a—"

"Cool it, you two." Reed intervened. "Let's get through one night without tearing into each other. Johnny, I don't think we're really in a position to take care of any animals right now."

"But I want one." Johnny argued, as though that explained it all.

"Sorry."

"Buy me one for Christmas."

"I don't think so."

"You guys are both boring." Johnny decided.

"That's us." Ben nodded with another large drink. "Hey, I'll bet the news is on." With that, he groped around for the remote, flipping channels.

"Thank you for proving my point." Johnny snapped.

"Erhm…hey guys…" came a soft, feminine voice from the entrance of the room, and they all paused in shock to see Sue standing before them.

Johnny instantly grew ten years worth of maturity, straightening up and becoming somber. Reed sank down against the couch as if her presence alone hurt him, despite him being at the opposite end of the room. She hadn't approached them since…it.

"Hey there Suzie." Ben greeted quickly after an uncomfortable silence, trying his best to seem casual. "What's up?"

"Uh, well nothing." She replied, rubbing one arm. "Just seeing what everyone is up to, that's all."

"Just watchin' T.V." Ben gestured. "You wanna join in?"

Johnny and Reed would have been exchanging a nervous glance had they the courage to look at one another while Sue was in the room.

"…No, I don't think…" she began.

"Come on, just sit down." Ben beckoned, moving over so that Sue could join him while maintaining a safe distance from her other two housemates—both for her protection and theirs. Alright, mostly theirs.

"Okay…" Sue cautiously edged closer and sat down on the couch, eyes traveling to the television awkwardly.

Reed attempted to swallow the lump in his throat, drawing his hands into his lap and rubbing them together slightly. This was the first time they had all been in the same room together since…it. He didn't know what to call it. He was teetering on his 'one night without tearing into each other' wish with waning hope.

The room was silent save for the soft sounds of the T.V. in front of them, Ben coughing every once in a while as if to pretend that they weren't all keeping purposefully quiet. As weird as it had been not speaking to each other these past few weeks, it was even more so to not do it while sitting in the same room. Part of the atmosphere was begging for an eruption while the other part did its best to prevent one.

"Aherm, uh, so," Ben began loudly before the silence had a chance to become maddening. "who's for pizza?"

"…Pizza sounds good." Johnny said quietly.

"Great. It's on me." Ben decided, picking up the phone.

"In that case, it sounds great." Johnny restated.

"Perfect. Alright, takin' orders, what do you want, Sue?" Ben waited, seeming satisfied at his attempts to lighten the mood.

"Well…Pepperoni?" she shrugged. "Johnny…maybe you want to split one with me?"

Johnny looked up, mouth partially opening and eyes searching the room like he thought he might catch a hidden camera. "…Y-yeah…er, of course, sure, Sis."

"Alright," Ben nodded happily, glancing between brother and sister in what could only be called triumph. "Reed?"

Reed was staring at the floor, trying to process what had just gone on. Sue and Johnny communicating? Granted, Johnny seemed just as surprised as he, but it had to be something at least.

"Uh, Reed? Hello?" Ben's voice demanded again.

"Huh? Oh, uh…Hawaiian…" he said just above a mutter, afraid of what the mere sound of his voice may introduce into the situation.

And, surprisingly, it did…nothing. No awful looks, no outbursts of rage, no sarcastic comments or flinches of terror. Reed had really fancied himself the catalyst in this whole mess, and thusly, he had been as quiet, careful, and downright scarce as he possibly could be. But perhaps he didn't have that much power after all. Maybe his imagination had exacerbated this disaster out of proportion. Maybe, just maybe, they all _could_ be friends again after this. Sure. And oh God, Christmas. He had completely forgotten about Christmas until Johnny had brought it up a few minutes ago. What was that going to be like if they couldn't all get along? It was in just a few weeks, after all. Oi, holidays…

"Yeah, hello? I wanna order three pizzas. Large. Yeah. You got extra large?" Ben's voice registered in his mind numbly as he thought.

Well for once they would all have dinner together. And provided this went well…Well. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

"In local news, are two of our own resident super heroes of the Fantastic Four involved in a _gay_ love affair?"

Johnny sputtered and choked up a mouthful of Dr. Pepper into his lap, coughing loudly and heaving the carbonated liquid out of his lungs. Reed's jaw hit the floor.

"...What?" Sue looked on towards the television in mortification while Ben sat with the phone to his ear, eyes wider than what seemed possible.

"That's right, as reported by an eye witness—" the T.V. reporter went on, overshadowing the sound of Johnny's hoarse coughing. "popular city saviors Reed Richards and Johnny Storm were allegedly seen kissing one another on the streets just outside of the Baxter Building only two nights ago—"

"That's—" Johnny hacked, holding a hand to his throat. "a damn—lie!"

"H-huh? Oh…Yeah, uh…I'll…call ya back…" Ben muttered into the phone before it slid out of his hand and fell into his lap.

"Oh my _God_!" Sue uttered, staring blankly.

"We never did that!" Reed protested angrily, now patting Johnny's back in a concerned manner. "Th-that's completely made up!"

"Sheesh…" Ben uttered in disbelief.

"Sue—" Johnny started, regaining his breath.

"How could you two be so _stupid_, _how _could you drag this out into _public_?" Sue stood up, holding hand to her head and unable to take her eyes from the T.V.

"B-but we _didn't_!" Johnny threw his hands up, glancing from her to the screen and shaking his head avidly.

"It's a rumor, someone's…" Reed sat grasping at straws. How could someone have found out? It's not like the things they were saying they saw were true, but then how would they know about it? "We didn't do that, we would never be that careless. They don't have any proof."

"Eye witness Jason Bradley had these photographs as evidence." Continued the story.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" Sue's jaw was the one to drop this time.

"_Photos_?" Johnny gaped as well.

As the supposed evidence appeared on screen, everyone in the room was stone still. It…well, it certainly _was_ a picture of two people kissing. For a moment, it was dead silent.

"Wait a minute…" Ben furrowed his brow.

"…That's not even _us_!" Johnny yelled, looking very near explosion. "I-I'm short! And old!"

"And I'm a woman…" Reed gawked in equal astonishment.

"Confirmation on the authenticity of these photographs has yet to be obtained, but resident cab driver Tom Shelling had this to say…"

"Sure, I picked up these two guys as a fare just a few weeks back. Yeah, sure, I'd'a called them a couple. I guess, I mean I ain't an expert in the queer department."

"Oh God." Reed dropped his face into his hands. Out of all the annoyances the media had to bring them, this was by far the worst. This was just some _incredibly_ ironic coincidence. What was this, Karma? For God's sake, now what? They couldn't exactly deny a true rumor just because it had false foundations…could they?

"I can't believe this…" Sue paced a small circle, rubbing her neck.

"Sue, that's not us in those pictures—this is bullshit!" Johnny barked, flames crawling up the back of his hands as he stared at the television lividly.

"So what if it's not? Everyone knows now, don't they?" Sue snapped back before promptly leaving the room.

"Ohhh this just gets better and better…" Ben slapped a hand over his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Straight Up Typhoon – 9**

_Blah! The real world is bringing me distractions! Don't they know I've got stories to write? Lousy bastards. Thanks so much for reviewing! But aww, I seem to have lost my little flamer. It's so much colder without her. :(_

_Please enjoy! Now if I could just get someone to teach me the robot…_

* * *

"I can't believe this." Johnny growled, still sitting in his spot and staring at the T.V. Sue had stormed off to her room two hours earlier and Ben had left about an hour ago to go meet Alicia, only after Reed had assured him nothing would be worsened by his absence. Mostly that left Reed and Johnny to duke out this incident on their own. "How can they…I-I mean they can't…"

"I know, I know, relax…" Reed tried to calm him, pacing idly in front of the coffee table and trying to settle his own nerves.

"Relax? That stuff isn't even true! Well…I-I mean it is true, but not the way they say it!" Johnny clenched his fists and looked away, growling out a breath.

"Famous people get rumors spread about them all the time." Reed reasoned, both for Johnny's sake and his own. "Even if we weren't…er…involved, they would've made that rumor up anyway. It has nothing to do with reality."

"What are we supposed to do now, Reed?" Johnny immediately set to biting his thumbnail. "What do they _want_ us to do? Do you not _get_ how much this sucks?"

"Yeah, I get it, Johnny." Reed held up a hand in frustration. "But there's nothing we can do about it. The public is going to see us how they want to see us."

"But it's a lie!"

"No, it's not." Reed gave him a look.

"Well okay, so it's not…but they don't have to know that!" he groaned and rubbed his cheek. "I seriously don't need this image."

"Just…think of it as widening your popularity range…" Reed murmured as he sat down on the couch once more.

"What?"

"You know…now you'll have an even bigger gay fan club." Reed shrugged.

"That's not funny." Johnny grunted back. "I'm serious, I don't wanna be known as 'that gay super hero'!"

"Johnny, since when are you so comfortable with the title 'super hero' anyway?" Reed straightened up in his slouch, running a hand tiredly through his hair. "Alright, so we stopped Victor from tearing up the city. But that was just cleaning up the mess we already made."

Johnny glared at him.

"…Okay, the mess _I _already made. In any case, we're not heroes. We're just people, average people."

"With super powers."

"You've never had a problem with the public deciding your image for you before." Reed pointed out.

"That's because they were only telling the truth about me!"

"Oh, and the truth entails your one night stand with Tyra Banks?"

Johnny paused. "Well…okay, so one little white lie couldn't hurt that bad."

"Look Johnny, the world's not always going to call you what you are." Reed sighed roughly. "Yesterday they loved you. Today they make up lies about you. Tomorrow they hate you, and by the next day, they've forgotten about you. Isn't this common sense?"

"So what, you think I'm an idiot now?" Johnny folded his arms. "Maybe you don't wanna be a hero Reed, maybe you don't want to save people and look cool while doing it, but I do. …And we're different from celebrities."

"No we're not." Reed argued. "Not to them, anyway. Don't you understand that? Johnny…those people might want your autograph and think you're cute and love the fact that you can set yourself on fire, but they're strangers. They don't care about you."

"Hey, just because they don't like you doesn't mean they don't like me!" Johnny said with an offended scoff.

"I don't even know what to say to you." Reed gave and expression that did nothing to hide his irritation. Johnny never listened, and there was nothing anyone could do to make him. On one hand, Reed could just strangle him. On the other hand…well—he'd need both hands to strangle him. "How can you be so naïve?"

"Oh, _excuse_ me!" Johnny stood up, pacing around. "I forgot; you're the smart one, you're the rocket scientist, you're the one with the Pedigree."

"I'm just trying to look out for you." Reed insisted. "I'm sorry that all of this happened, but the fact is, you didn't have any issue with the lies people told about you before. It's the truth you seem to have some big damn problem with."

"I'm _not gay_!" Johnny thrust a finger at him.

"_I_ know that." Reed huffed. "But the fact is that you're in a relationship with a man, so what do you expect people to think?"

"It's none of their business!" Johnny returned dangerously.

"Try telling that to them."

"Yeah?" Johnny snapped at last, turning to face Reed fully. "Well then maybe I don't _want_ to be in a 'relationship' with a man!"

Reed scowled, clenching a fist at his side. "If your image is so damn important to you, fine. Go to Hell."

Johnny hesitated for a few moments before tightening his jaw. "Great! See ya!" with that, he marched his way out of the room in a hurry towards the front door.

Reed stood as well, watching Johnny go. It was only then that he managed a slight twinge of remorse. "...Johnny…wait—"

But the door had already slammed shut behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Straight Up Typhoon – 10**

_Hope you all had good holidays! Mine sucked. Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are all rock hard. BEWARE OF CLIFFS._

* * *

Reed couldn't believe it. Everything had somehow found its way to shambles, once again, and it was becoming something of a pattern. Graduates top of his class, his business fails. Gets funding from Victor to do his revolutionary space research, ends up with fundamentally altered DNA. Finally gets the one woman he'd ever loved back in his life, falls for her brother instead. And just when everything was starting to get to a semi sort of almost kind of normal, _this_ had to happen. A few hours ago his life had been so close to decent, and now…

He almost never got drunk, but it had never sounded so good. However, thus far he'd only had the stomach to manage half a can of beer before he gave up. The last time Johnny had gotten drunk, it had placed a permanent image in his head of exactly what not to do and why, and erasing the memory of scrubbing vomit off the floor at four in the morning was pretty much impossible. Setting his can aside, he rested his elbows on his knees and sighed deeply. There was really no escape. All he could do was sit and think about how awful things were and hope that they got better. After Sue calmed down and the public got over this rumor and after Johnny came back…He hoped he would come back tonight. Already Reed was preparing himself for the routine of receiving Johnny's cold shoulder for the next few days until eventually he could guilt him into talking again. He knew that Johnny didn't really mean the things he said. …Did he?

Of course not. It's not like he was out getting drunk and having sex. As…like him as that would be… Reed suddenly reached for his beer again with a renewed urge.

"Reed?"

Reed slowly looked up in mid-drink, eyes drawing carefully to find his caller standing next to the couch. Sue. He had heard the footsteps down the hall just a few moments prior, but he hadn't made much note of it. For what reason would she possibly seek contact with him, after all? Still childishly afraid of his own voice, Reed mustered a rabbity smile and nodded.

"I uh…" she cleared her throat slightly, sitting in one of the chairs and glancing back out at the T.V., which was now on to much lighter matters than the sexual orientation of the city's best loved vigilantes. "I heard you and Johnny fighting earlier…" she only met his eyes in a brief flicker, playing with the ends of her hair in her fingertips.

_Dear Reed; this is your brain. Please reflect upon your current situation. Susan Storm, a.k.a. your ex fiancé due to an affair you intended to have, i.e. one Jonathan Storm, is currently sitting not five feet away from you at the present time. As the governing organ of your physical being, I would like to inform you that this is the moment it would be most beneficial for you to remove yourself from the immediate location as soon as you are able in order to avoid bodily harm._ "…Yeah…" he spoke at last, looking down at his drink. "It…it was stupid."

"With Johnny it usually is…" she barely murmured.

Reed was staring at the floor now, wondering nervously what she wanted. Did she just come out here hoping to find her brother? No, she must have heard him leave. Well, she wasn't yelling. Did that mean she actually wanted to…talk? His eyes found her another short time before returning to the floor.

"I guess…I guess Ben's out by now, huh?"

"Yep." Reed swallowed hard.

"Hm."

Reed blinked and slowly took another long drink. Were they going to sit here in silence until someone came home? Truth be told, he wasn't sure he didn't prefer that.

"Reed…I've been thinking," Sue began.

Reed felt a strange urge to duck. "Yes?"

"Maybe we should…"

"Talk?" he finished tentatively.

Sue looked at him for a second and nodded slightly, letting go of a small sigh. "Something like that, yeah."

"Okay." Reed agreed as he straightened up a little. He was terrified, but, well, he supposed he'd better get this over with. The notion of Sue not hating him for all of eternity was rather nice, as faint of a chance as he had of changing that. After all, if he had a brother and the situation were reversed…or…a sister as the case may be, he might have been more inclined to sulk forever than to talk about it. Of course, he sort of _had_ felt that way when Sue showed up with Victor. Or at least, when he _thought_ she was with Victor…

Sue paused for a long moment before biting her lower lip and letting out a frustrated breath. "I'm still mad, you know."

Reed instinctively lowered his head a little. "…I know."

"I mean, don't I have every right to be?" she continued. Obviously she received no protest. "…But…I'm…well I'm tired of being mad all the time."

Confused, Reed looked over to her.

"It's not that I'm not still mad—because I am," Sue clarified once again, giving him a bit of a look, "It's just that I'm…sick of it. I don't like thinking about it all the time, or avoiding the people I live with."

"Me neither…" Reed admitted. He was relieved to know that Sue felt the same way, though it was an odd time for her to be saying all of this when the situation had just gone from bad to horrendous.

"And I can't keep feeling like this about Johnny. He's my brother, he's…well…The other day I found myself thinking, 'God, I just hate him'."

Reed felt a tight cramp of guilt in his stomach.

"I've never actually hated him. Maybe I've said it before, but I've never meant it. Not until just then…All I can think now is…what am I hating him for? What's worth hating your only family? What I mean is…is…"

Reed was quiet for a moment before slowly letting out a breath. "That I'm not worth hating him over."

Sue gazed back at him with her mouth slightly open as if at a loss for words.

"And you're right. …I'm not." He finished timorously.

"…You make it really hard to say these things to you when you say them first."

"Sorry." Reed apologized. After a long moment of thinking, he shook his head and drew his eyes back to her. "I'm sorry, Sue…I-I guess…I've been meaning to say that for a while now."

"Well why didn't you say it before?" she said to her knees.

"I…was sort of afraid it…wasn't enough. I still don't really think it is. That and, you know, I was afraid you might throw something at me." He cleared his throat and rubbed an arm.

"You still should've said it."

"…I know."

Reed felt so much younger than he was, and certainly not in a good way.

"You're a jerk." Sue decided next.

Reed blinked in shock, trying to process the implications of that statement. He strung her along in their early relationship and eventually had driven her away with his science. He had given her a hard time with Victor and pleaded for her heart until she finally relented. He had fooled around with her brother behind her back and had subsequently left her for him. And all she could call him was a jerk. And he couldn't help it. He laughed.

And she smiled, just barely.

"Listen, Sue—"

"Reed," Sue suddenly stopped him, thrusting a hand out to silence him as she stared at the television. "Wait a minute, wait…"

Reed's eyes immediately followed hers to the T.V. "God, what now?" At first glance, Reed couldn't understand for the life of him what Sue was so worked up about all of a sudden. He barely had time to catch the sight of roaring flames and scattering firemen before he was able to deduce the scenario. Breaking news. A fire. A building on fire. Some previously unknown instinct in him flared up. "Where is that?" he asked immediately.

"I-I don't know, I…" Sue was squinting hard, eyes scanning the screen as she clutched a hand on the arm of her chair as though preparing to bolt. They were both frozen and dead silent waiting for some kind of clue before—"Oh my God," Sue gasped. "That's Alicia's building!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Straight Up Typhoon – 11**

_Annnnnnd_ _eleven._ …_Yeah. I guess It gots nothin' t'say. Enjoy please! Sorry about the shortness!_

* * *

By the time Sue and Reed reached the scene, it was a devastated mess of panicking human bodies and chaotic confusion. Hysteria was growing at all ends below a billowing tower of hellish black smoke rising from the other end of the ocean of horrified spectators, the air filled with coughs, screams, crackling ashes, and the semi-distant wail of urgent sirens.

Reed and Sue only took a brief moment to look at one another before diving headlong into the crowd.

Reed barreled through the wall of panicking bodies as fast as he could, knocking past seemingly endless rows of shoulders and nearly tripping over various feet along his way. In such widespread disarray, neither he nor those he pushed against had the time or mindset to think on it. By the time he struggled to the head of the mob, things had only escalated in their disastrous state. Reed almost toppled over a police barricade as he broke through the front of the throng and slipped into the clearing amid the ambulances and fire trucks relatively unnoticed. Officers and firemen alike were keeping the bulk of the crowd at bay frantically while Reed and Sue managed by into the scattered region amid paramedics and the frenzied residents of the currently burning building. For a minute, Reed lost himself in the calamity. He looked in every direction, unable to discern the way he was going from the way which he had come. He almost turned the wrong way before he suddenly caught sight of a familiar and unmistakable figure in the midst of the horde a fair ways off.

"Ben!" Reed called out, to no avail. He immediately dodged around a group of confused spectators and made it out into the clearing just in front of the building. Ben was coughing, and under his arm was what looked to be a rather charred and unconscious elderly man by the shirt as he pulled himself away from the inferno. Over his shoulder was another younger man, who, upon closer inspection, appeared to be a firefighter himself. "Ben!" Reed called out again, rushing to meet him.

"Reed," Ben panted, handing over the two men to some very wary looking paramedics. "Boy are you a sight for sore eyes."

"What happened?" Sue asked before Reed had the chance, following up quickly onto the scene.

"Don't know." Ben replied, trying to catch his breath. "Me and Al were just…comin' back here to…" he cleared his throat and coughed, wiping some ashes from his shoulder. "She forgot somethin' or other. I'm down here waitin—next thing I know, the whole place is up in smoke."

"Is Alicia okay?" Sue looked around for a moment in panic.

"Yeah, she's fine…" Ben nodded.

"Where's Johnny?" Reed asked next.

Ben shook his head. "Kid ain't here. …He ain't with you?"

"No." Reed cursed inwardly. Johnny was always there when they needed him, and now he wasn't, and Reed couldn't help but feel responsible. "Ben," he started, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Is everyone out of the building?"

"Uh, I…I don't know, yeah, yeah, I think…" he looked back and forth between the fire and the bystanders littered around them. "I didn't see anybody else in there. I guess I could check again—"

"No, Ben, that's crazy, you can't go back in there." Sue interjected, putting a hand to his arm.

Reed coughed hoarsely and held an arm to partially cover his face, squinting up at the eruptions of smoke clouds and flames. "How did it start?" he asked no one in particular.

"Please!" a voice wailed out behind them, and they quickly turned over a shoulder to see the source of it.

"Miss," a more masculine voice entered the situation, and they were fast to pick out the two figures. "We're doing all we can now, you've got to—"

"No, you don't understand!" a nearly hysterical young woman was trying to push past a blackened and slightly burnt firefighter, neither of which was paying any heed to the adjacent team of super heroes.

"Miss—"

"Someone's still in there!" she screamed.

Reed instantly looked back towards the fire, brows knitted in alarm and eyes scanning the entrances and exits furiously.

"My sister—please! She's not out here, she's still in the building, please—"

"Miss, please, calm down. The paramedics can help you search for her, I'm sure she's with one of the ambulances."

"Aren't you listening to me?" the woman was becoming aggressive now, shoving at him gruffly and running a sleeve along her soot-smeared cheek. "She isn't _out_ here, don't you think I'd know if she was? Please! She's only fourteen, please, I have to—"

"Hey, hey, wait now—!" the firefighter caught her by the shoulders again as she shoved forward, which caused her to erupt into fit.

Reed took a step forward nearer to the building and attempted to shield his face from the smoke, freezing in place when he heard the distant sound of…

"Reed, keep back!" Sue cried after him.

Reed didn't turn around. "I-I think someone's still in there." He said gravely.

Suddenly that thought was confirmed as a high-pitched yell sounded from somewhere among the smoke and fire.

"Leslie!" shrieked the young woman from the constrictions of the fireman's arms. "Oh my God, let me go, she's still—"

"We have to get to her." Reed blurted.

"Reed, no, we gotta wait for Johnny! He's the only one of us that can get in there!" Ben exclaimed in protest.

Reed whipped around and scoured the skies in momentary desperation before another scream sounded from somewhere in the building. "There's no time!" he shouted before rushing into the wall of smoke without a second thought.

"Reed!" Ben cried out in shock. Both Ben and Sue made a mad dash after him, but before they could cross the threshold—an eruption of flames burst forth from it with a ground-shaking roar, sending both of them to the asphalt hard.


	12. Chapter 12

**Straight Up Typhoon – 12**

_Twelve._ _Damn I'm tired. Thanks for reviewing. I'm sorry I don't get to you all individually near often enough, but I have less and less time these days._

_

* * *

Stupid Reed._ Johnny thought with a snort as he trudged down the sidewalk, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket and his head lowered between his shoulders. _Stupid Reed and his stupid…ass!_ He kicked the cement a little and sighed, shaking his head. This was all Reed's fault. He was the one that started this stupid relationship in the first place. He was the one that cheated on his sister and made a move on Johnny—totally completely undeniably straight Johnny. Therefore, this whole media circus was Reed's fault too. So why was Johnny the one being screwed for it? . 

He could already picture the headlines.

_Human Torch: a Flaming Homosexual? _

_Mr. Fantastic: Flexible in More Ways_ _than One? _

_Fantastic Four: Just One Big Orgy? _

He growled and ground his teeth together as if convinced his problem was between his molars. Maybe Reed didn't have a problem being called gay when he wasn't, but Johnny sure as Hell did. If he had known that this little deal between him and Reed was going to be a public affair, he never would've signed up for it in the first place. So what now? Were people going to look at him funny? Point at him when he walked down the street, talk about him behind his back? Would he be able to go out alone at night without fear of being jumped by the Fab Five? This whole thing sucked. He needed a drink.

"Well if it isn't Johnny Storm."

Johnny quickly looked up, glancing around to try and locate the person addressing him. As his eyes drew up, they came across a petite brunette sizing him up from a few feet away, a large smile stretching across her pretty features. He blinked. "Hey, Vanessa." Oh God, he hoped that was Vanessa.

When she sauntered up to him without incident, he relaxed a bit in relief. "It's been a while." She offered.

"Yep, guess it has." He shrugged, forcing a grin. "What can I say? Super hero business really keeps ya busy."

Vanessa giggled slightly, flicking her curly shoulder-length locks once with a jingle of hanging earrings. "So I hear. I still can't believe it. One day I was thinking about you and the next you're on the front page of every magazine."

"Believe it, baby." He snickered in return, trying to keep light.

"You stud, you. My friends still don't believe me when I say I've slept with a super hero." She mused aloud. "Where've you been hiding these days, Johnny? You haven't been to the clubs in weeks. I mean what happened? You used to be out practically every night, burning up this town."

Johnny paused, thinking of an explanation. Somewhere in the background, sirens sounded. "Um, yeah. Well, the team and I've been real busy lately." He tried lamely.

"Oh yeah? Busy doing what? Or am I allowed to ask?" she teased.

"Sorry, top secret hero stuff. If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Johnny sought a way out quickly and moved to change the subject. "What've you been doing?"

Vanessa sighed and fluttered her lashes. "Same old same old. Workaholic by day, alcoholic by night. But things aren't the same without you there to liven 'em up."

"Oh." Johnny looked down. "Yeah."

"Why don't you come out with me and have a little fun tonight, huh?" she nudged him playfully. "We should catch up. I mean that's why you're out here, right? To grab a drink?"

Johnny hesitated for a long moment in uncertainty. "Er…I-I'm not really…up for it right now." He barely muttered.

"Not up for it?" Vanessa gaped slightly. "You're always up for it."

"Yeah, well, not so much tonight…"

"Okay, well, we don't have to go to the club." She shrugged, reaching out a slender hand about his wrist.

"Huh?" Johnny replied numbly, looking down as she regarded him with a pair of enticing green eyes. She was wearing red eye shadow. How he loved red eye shadow.

"Come on, we can just go back to my place and…decompress." She smiled, and he was instantly turned on by such an open offer. Who was he to refuse something like that? And why should he have to? It had been a long time since he'd been laid—much longer than he was used to, anyway.

"I-I…" he swallowed thickly. "…Look, 'Ness…I can't." he sighed.

With a small pout, she let go of him, crooking an eyebrow suspiciously. "What gives, Johnny?" she demanded.

"It's just…I'm um…" Oh God, how was he supposed to get himself out of this one? There was no logical reason he should turn a girl like her down. He wasn't even positive exactly why he _was_.

"You just what?" she waited impatiently. After a moment, she grew a sudden look on her face, as if she'd just figured something out. "…Those rumors on T.V. aren't true, are they?"

"What?" he nearly yelped, his heart leaping up into his throat.

"They're saying you're gay. I have to say, if you are, you did a damn good job fooling me."

"No!" Johnny grunted out, holding a hand to his head. "Look, that's a total lie. I'm _not_ gay. I-It's just that I, I'm seeing someone!" Wait, that was perfect. Why didn't he think of that before? He was seeing someone, that's why he couldn't take her up on her offer.

Vanessa stopped, her expression turning to surprise. "…Johnny Storm settling down? …I don't believe that." She laughed.

"Hey, why can't I find someone?" he defended, holding up his hands. "We've been together for a while now. That's why I haven't been out. I've been with h-her."

"Well what's her name?" Vanessa suddenly gushed. "I mean seriously, I have to know all about the future Mrs. Storm here. And how she managed to sink her claws into a catch like you."

"Sally." Johnny thought up quickly. It wasn't a _complete _lie at least. He did love a Sally, even if she wasn't a woman.

"Sally who?"

"Uh…Kawasaki?" Johnny gulped.

"Sally Kawasaki? Is she Japanese or something?"

"Um, sure. Well, her parents are. She was born…here…I guess."

"Oh." Vanessa chuckled. "Wow. I had no idea. So I guess that rumor about you and Mr. Fantastic is just crap, huh?"

"Yep." He muttered. He knew damn well why that reply caused a mildly sick sensation in the pit of his stomach, but he pushed it aside. "They'll say anything for a story."

"That's stupid." She scoffed lightly. "You should sue them or something. Or just, you know, tell them all about Sally."

"Yeah. Guess I could." He nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Alright, well I guess I'd better get going." She replied, reaching up a hand and slightly swiping his cheek as she walked by him. "See you around, Torch."

"Yeah…see ya…" he bit his tongue and watch her walk away, groaning inwardly as he noted her painfully short skirt before turning back. _Stupid Reed…_Johnny continued on, just hoping that he didn't run into any more old friends.

He sighed yet again and stopped near a newspaper dispenser, eying down at the front headline in paranoia to assure that it wasn't about him. He knew it was ridiculous, but everything else had just been going so wonderfully that it may as well…be…

Unfortunately, his irrational fear was actually grounded. His jaw dropped.

_Local Heroes Out of the Closet_

_Damnit!_ Johnny snarled and dug through his pockets for some coins, intent on destroying every last one of those lying articles. The bastards. The nosy, lying, stupid, ignorant bastards. He needed to punch someone. However, as he leaned forward over the dispenser, he caught an odd reflection in the glass. He momentarily forgot his rage and peered closer before turning around and gazing up over the top of the buildings next to him. It was rather far off, but it looked like…smoke?

"Check it out." Said a voice from a few feet away. Johnny turned to see a number of people on the sidewalk that he hadn't noticed, also with eyes up at the winding smoke.

"Yeah," said another man to the first. "There's this big fire up town. I heard they even called in the Fantastic Four."

"Huh." Huffed another.

Johnny's eyes widened. The sirens. He had heard sirens before. In a flash of fire and fragments of burnt clothing, he was airborne, leaving a line of confused and awed spectators in his wake.


	13. Chapter 13

**Straight Up Typhoon – 13**

_Waaaaa._ _Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome…Sorry for those of you who don't like the cliffhangers. Theses are just the sections I wrote them in. I'm really glad that y'all are still readin'!_

* * *

Johnny had made it over the heads of the crowd in a matter of moments, trying to avoid a cloud of smoke he couldn't see through and spiraling downwards into the scene as fast as he could in time to see Ben and Sue sprawled on the ground beneath him. With more than one question screaming in his mind, he landed and rushed to his two downed teammates in concern. He quickly dropped next to Sue and gripped her shoulders, shaking her a bit roughly. "Sue!"

Sue's eyes opened in confusion as she was shaken, holding a hand to her head. "Johnny! Quit it, I'm awake!" she wheezed.

"Sorry." He winced. "Are you okay? What's going on, what happened?"

"Oh…" Ben moaned as he struggled to push himself up. "Reed!"

Johnny looked around in growing apprehension, blinking repeatedly. "Reed?"

"God, Johnny, where were you?" Sue pushed his hands away and moved frantically to a sitting position, clutching his shoulders as she looked towards the building in horror. "There was a girl still trapped in there, Reed went in for her, we tried to go after him but—"

"He _what_?" Johnny coughed out. Reed had gone into the fire? By himself? Didn't he think to wait until the _one_ of them that could withstand flames got there? Oh, what had he done now? He desperately tried to calm the whirl of questions in his head so that he could emulate some semblance of straight thinking. "Stay here." He commanded, giving Sue a stern look and jumping to his feet.

"Johnny, be careful!" Sue cried out before he quickly enveloped himself into the flames of the building.

Obviously unbothered by heat or smoke, Johnny scanned his surroundings immediately, kicking away burning debris and making quick work of his search. As far as he knew, this place could collapse at any moment, and imperviousness to fire wouldn't help him in the slightest. "Reed!" he snapped out, the crackling of the flames drowning the sound of his voice. He had no way of knowing which direction to go. He didn't know if Reed was conscious or even alive at this point. "God damnit Reed, where are you?" he attempted to stamp out some of the flames near him as he looked around.

His attempts were thwarted as he felt a sharp, blunt pain in his shoulder, and he fell against the ground with a jarring crash. He wasn't entirely sure what had hit him, but judging by the burning chunks of plaster all around him, it was probably safe to judge it as a piece of the ceiling. Terror gripped him as he heaved himself painfully off of the floor, wiping away a streak of blood from the bottom of his chin. The building was already falling apart. He didn't know where Reed was. He didn't know where to go from here, and if he wasn't quick about it, they both could die. That's when he heard the sound of crying.

Clinging to that sense, Johnny stumbled as fast as he could towards it. The flames were high, and their abundance made it rather confusing as to where he was going, but nevertheless determined, he continued to move onward. If he would have been a fraction less attentive, he would have completely missed the glimpse of a human figure from across the side room through the partial opening of a jammed door. Adrenaline surging, he slammed his shoulder into the door and nearly snapped it off its hinges, revealing to him exactly what he had been looking for.

Up against the wall was a young girl kneeling shakily over the still figure of Reed. She was in her early teens, a rather scrawny looking thing with short, scraggly black hair and clothes that seemed to hang off of her. She was crying heavily, trying in near panic to revive Reed's limp body. Johnny leapt as fast as he could to them, and she looked up with a squeak of shock.

"What happened to him?" was the first thing Johnny could say, on his knees already and pushing Reed onto his back. His stomach clenched and he examined his body worriedly. "Reed, man…"

"I-I don't know!" the girl whimpered, holding her hands up to her mouth. "I didn't know how to get out. Then he—he just showed up out of nowhere. S-something blew up, there was lots of fire, h-he p-protected me…Please help!" she hiccupped and seemed to be trying to hold back a fit of sobs.

Johnny licked an upper lip and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's your name?"

"…Leslie." She sniffled, every breath punctuated by a cough.

"My name's Johnny." He offered calmly. "I'm gonna help you get out of here, but you've gotta be brave, okay? 'Cause I need your help."

Leslie wiped her eyes furiously and swiftly nodded, coughing again and looking up at him with a frightened, hopeful expression.

"Okay. Okay, okay, come on. He's unconscious, and we've gotta get him out soon or else the smoke'll suffocate him." And her too, but he thought it best not to bring up that point.

"Is he hurt?" she tried hard to keep her tone level.

"I don't know. That's why we've gotta be real careful, okay?" he nodded. The ceiling suddenly made a thunderous crack and crumble from above them. Leslie screamed fearfully and Johnny stiffened. "Okay Leslie, forget careful, just move fast." He took Reed's arm and pulled it over his shoulder, straining hard to try and heave himself to his feet. "Help me with his other side." He grunted. The girl quickly did as she was told, trying her best to help support the other side of Reed's slumped form with her narrow shoulders. "Good, that's good." Johnny approved.

"How are we gonna get out?" she croaked unsteadily, coughing more avidly as she surveyed their predicament.

"Don't worry, it's not a long way." Johnny assured. He looked up towards the door and the various obstacles of burning material in their path, something that his flame-proof body had easily crossed, but which would be impossible for his acquired companions to move through. He looked around hopeless for other exits, but found none that were better off.

"Are we gonna die?" Leslie questioned shakily.

Johnny looked to her in concern, noting her decline in stability. Her breath was becoming more and more labored. "Not if I have anything to say about it." He stated, ushering both of them over to a safer wall and lowered Reed down gently. "Stay right here, okay? I'm gonna clear a path."

Leslie did as she was told and crouched down near Reed, trying once more in vain to see if he would awaken.

Johnny went back to the door and kicked the bulk of whatever was blocking the way near the door—possibly a fallen dresser or desk of some sort that he had stepped over before without a thought coming in. He tried to crush it, but it did no good. Pushing it out of the way was soon found to be just as futile. Holding a hand to his head, Johnny wracked his brain. What could he do? God, he wished that Reed was awake; he always had some scientific equation to solve everything. _No_, Johnny thought quickly, _he's depending on me now. So's the kid. You wanted to be a hero, Johnny, so damnit, be a hero!_ Suddenly reaffirmed, a thought occurred to him. He couldn't stop the burning, but he _could _speed it along. That was it. Generating heat as fast as he could, he held his hands over the wreckage and focused it. If he could raise his own temperature enough, he would be able to disintegrate just about anything. Narrowing his eyes, he concentrated as hard as he could, channeling the energy through his palms and biting his lip. At first, nothing seemed to happen. After a few tense moments, however, the wood began to crumble away into thick black ashes.

Heart springing in triumph, Johnny violently kicked away the rubble and rushed back to his two companions. "Alright, come on!" he ordered, jerking Reed's arm back over his shoulder and beckoning the girl with a head toss. Leslie jumped up and wobbled with a cough for a moment before obliging. Johnny looked around as they went, momentarily losing track of where he was. There was fire everywhere, it was hard to tell where the exit was…but before he knew it, he was spilling outside into the sudden coldness of the night air.

"Johnny!"

"Reed!"

"Leslie!"

With another heavy cough, Leslie staggered for a moment before rushing in the direction from where her name had been called. In the meantime, Johnny collapsed to the ground with Reed in tow, quickly getting up onto his knees to tend to the other man in near panic. "Reed? Reed, please, please wake up," he panted, patting his cheek.

"Johnny, are you okay?" Sue's voice barely made it to him.

"Reed, please wake up, come on!" Johnny furiously wiped the ash from under his eyes and blinked to try and see better. Reed didn't show any signs of movement, consciousness, or even life.

"Someone get over here! He's hurt!" Ben's voice boomed out in the direction of the crowd of ambulances.

Johnny felt his stomach lurch as Reed remained unresponsive—possibly not even breathing. "Don't do this," he wheezed desperately.

"Somebody get a God damn paramedic over here _now_!" At that, Ben's order was finally obeyed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Straight Up Typhoon – 14**

_Hi all! Back again. Sorry about the wait on this one. Editing is taking longer than I thought. I hope the length of this one is a bit more satisfying, however. But oh my gosh:D Look, look, my cute little ol' flamer's back!_

"i am sorry for making fun of your story your probably just a kid so your probably sad when i made fun of it and i should not be making fun of a little kids story cause i am older then you hope i did not scar you for lyfe bye"

_Lyfe! I just love her! Aw, she's older than me? How sad! And funny, since I don't think I'veever mentioned my age—but I feel awful when people like her are permanently stunted at a thirteen-year-old level. But hey, Einstein couldn't remember his own address, so you never know. XD Don't worry though, 'hullo', your comments haven't offended me. Thank you so much for commenting, even though you hate it! Waita battle against that fat, lazy America!_

_Thanks so much for all the kind words from all. I'm thrilled that people like this story, even if it is just a bunch of silliness. So anyway, we have one more chapter to go after this one (fifteen, good number, hurrah!) and I hope that you all keep reading! And that wveryone enjoys this story for the rest of their lyfe. XP _

* * *

Johnny was seeing odd colors against the clean white walls as he paced back and forth between the ends of the waiting room, the result of his rampant anxiety and some strange after effects of staring into the bright lights of flames too intently. He felt as though it was all he could do just to remind his heart to beat. Every thump pounded in his ears. 

"Johnny," his sister's voice finally made it through his thick mental barrier, but he didn't bother to look at her. "Johnny, sit down. Please."

Johnny didn't say anything, letting out only a short breath through his teeth and rubbing his forehead.

"Come on, kid." Ben encouraged. "Sit down. You're makin' us edgy."

Johnny nibbled his lower lip and froze, blinking repeatedly as he idled on one foot. After a brief contemplation, he dropped heavily into a chair, clutching his head.

"It's gonna be fine." Sue assured, though her voice was shaking.

Johnny didn't reply.

"It is, kid, it will be." Ben tried. He sounded just as uncertain, however.

There was a very long period of silence between the three of them…They had been in danger before, sure. They had each made it out of some pretty tricky situations. But they had never been forced to sit around and wonder whether or not one of them would live or die in the next room. It was torture. Part of Johnny wanted to say to hell with this and leave, because it was easier to deal with these things from far away and when you had a few drinks in you, while the other part wanted to just plain cry. He met it at a middle and did nothing. He sat, and tapped his foot, and fidgeted and drummed his fingers and practiced about a thousand other gestures that channeled out his impatience. In the meantime, all he could do was think. Sit, worry, and think about Reed. About a handful of moments and feelings that Johnny had been so quick to avoid, and now couldn't help but feel like he wanted all of them back. _No, don't do that. Don't think about that. Just keep your cool. That's all you've gotta do…Yeah. Okay. Calm. Cool. That's better…_

"Oh God damnit, I shouldn't've left!" Johnny growled, digging his fingers into his scalp. The others looked up, startled from the break of silence. "If I would've been there, he wouldn't've gone in, I-I—"

"Don't start." Sue cut him off gruffly. "Don't start with the 'what ifs', okay? Please?"

"Why not? It's my fault. I left him. I let this happen to him." Johnny continued almost fearfully, eyes wide and stuck to the white tile floor.

"None of us could've known what was going to happen." Sue reasoned with a desperate edge as she placed a hand on her brother's arm. "It's not your fault."

"Well that's easy to say when everything's fine," Johnny continued, gritting his teeth and shaking his head as he tried to reason between anger and despair. "but now isn't one of those times! He could die!"

"He _ain't_ gonna die." Ben barked in retaliation, fidgeting in his chair. "He…He's tougher than that. Stop worryin'."

"Stop worrying?" Johnny lifted his head to glare at Ben. "Oh, yeah, whatever. Sure. I'll stop. Jesus, I wouldn't want my 'worrying' to interfere with your goddamn awkward silence!"

"Johnny!" Sue held up a hand, trying to calm the situation. "Ben, Johnny, stop…"

"Excuse me, sir?" came a voice, interrupting them. They looked up to see a young, dark skinned officer before them with an inquisitively quirked brow, thumbs hooked in his belt as he surveyed them. "I don't mean to barge in here…I'm Officer Logan, I was told you folks had some direct association with the fire. It would help us out if I could ask a few questions."

"Uh…"

The officer was already pulling out a pad and a pen, gesturing it to Ben and Johnny. "You're Ben Grimm, right? And uh, Johnny Storm?"

Johnny muttered and sank into his seat.

"Look," Ben interjected. "Now's a real bad time."

"I understand, sir, sorry to be a bother." Logan nodded, looking around. "But all I really need to know is whether or not the name Roger Darwin means anything to you folks."

There was another long pause before Ben narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth. "…Wait a sec…Roger?" he went still, looking over at Sue.

Sue stared back at him blankly before she perked, as though remembering something. "You mean the guy from the other night?"

Too stressed to care about something he obviously wasn't in on, Johnny remained silent.

"What's he got to do with this?" Ben demanded next.

Logan rested his hands back near his hips, taking due note of their reaction. "So I take it that's a yes. We found the source of the fire. Looks like a case of arson."

"Arson?" Ben's fist slowly clenched.

"Yep. And all signs are pointing to this Darwin character. Doorman saw him arguing with a girl and an employee from the restaurant next door says she saw him nosing around out back about five minutes after he left the building. Security camera's confirmed it. We've been questioning residents of the building, but no one seems to know who he is, let alone give us a motive. We're still looking for the woman he was apparently after. If you could shed any kind of light on that…"

Ben was deadly silent.

"…Yeah, he…he's been stalking this friend of ours. Alicia Masters." Sue began, eying Ben cautiously. "Always showing up wherever she goes, coming by her apartment, even bothering us…She lives—er, lived in the building that burned down. It must've been her he was there for."

"So you're tellin' me…" Ben uttered in a low but violent tone. "…that this jackass runt…was the start a'all this?"

"Looks that way." Logan nodded.

"Oh." Ben nodded back.

Then promptly erupted.

"I'munna _kill_ '_im_!" he roared, standing up. His chair flung up from the motion and knocked two others against the wall a good ten feet away. "Where is he, you got him in custody, bring him here!"

"Whoah, take it easy there, sir!" the officer fell back a step, holding up a hand.

Johnny instantly jumped up as well, jaw clenched. "Yeah, bring him on down here, I'll teach him a thing or two about playing with fire!"

"No way, I got a score to settle with him, _I'm_ gonna be the one breakin' his scrawny neck!" Ben turned to Johnny, thrusting a thumb at himself.

"Not if I find him first! I'm not standing back, not after what he did!" Johnny countered.

"Hey, _I'm_ the one whose girlfriend he's been harassin', and now he goes and does this—you can forget it, kid, he's mine!"

"Yeah well he could've killed my—…well…Reed!"

"Yeah, your Reed, _my_ best friend!" Ben snorted. "He tried to kill my girlfriend _and_ my best friend, that puts me at the front of the line for rippin' his guts out!"

"Would you two knock it off?" Sue shouted as she stood up now as well. "For God's sake, listen to yourselves! You're fighting over who gets to kill someone, now would you both please sit down and stop making a scene?"

"Pardon me," a voice caused them all—raging brother, frustrated sister, irate boyfriend, and confused officer—to turn. Standing at the entrance to the hall was a tall doctor, studying them all in a calm surprise through thin-framed spectacles. "If you'll all settle down just a moment…" he glanced down at his clipboard. "…I have some news about your friend's condition—"

"Oh God," Johnny shuddered pitifully. "What happened? How bad is he? Please, don't tell me he's dead, please, I can't take stuff like that, I'll—"

"Whoah, whoah," the doctor blinked repeatedly, holding up a hand. "Wait just a minute now, there's no need to panic…" he let out a quick sigh and glanced down at his chart again for good measure. "…I don't know why you're under such an impression. The worst of Mr. Richard's injuries is a moderate fracture of the left humerus. Other than a few minor burns, cuts, and bruises, and just a bit of smoke inhalation, he's perfectly fine."

…Perfectly fine. The words seemed to echo over the room. Perfectly fine. Not in a coma, not hovering over the edge of death, not brain damaged. But…perfectly fine. "…So what you're saying is he's…" Johnny swallowed heavily. "Fine?"

"That…would be the gist of it, yes." The doctor nodded.

"Thank God…" Sue held a hand to her face. Ben let out a relieved mutter and rested a hand against the wall.

"Would you like to see him?" the doctor continued to Johnny.

Johnny cleared his throat mannishly to rid it of its awkward tone. He looked from Sue to Ben meekly.

"Uh…you go on ahead, kid." Ben looked at Sue and she nodded hesitantly. "We've still got…questions to answer. Go see how he's doin'."

"Oh…y-yeah…sure…" Johnny took a flustered moment to stare back at them before turning and marching down the hallway.

* * *

Reed groaned and rubbed his head, looking down at a strangely numb left arm where it rested in a sling. He was relatively sure it would serve him agony eventually, but that really was the last of what mattered given his current state of mind. He was sore all over. His right shoulder was a burnt, his head was pounding, and there was a cut on his inner thigh that itched like a mother, but apart from all of that and as far as he could tell, he was the luckiest man on earth at the moment. Even if he didn't remember why, exactly, or even how he got here. The last thing he could recall was grabbing that young girl, and then…well, like the paramedic had told him when he first woke up, there were no casualties in the fire. Embarassingly enough, Reed had been the closest thing to it. So he felt it safe to assume that she was alright, even if he didn't know quite how. It was becoming increasingly hard to care, however. Morphine, even in small doses, was a Hell of a thing. 

"You've got a lot of damn nerve and no damn brains!" Johnny snapped violently as he burst into the room, and Reed almost fell out of bed. Not _quite_ the warm greeting he'd been hoping for.

"I-It's good to see you too, Johnny." He sputtered, shifting and staring at him in shock. Johnny was enraged about something.

"For as smart as you think you are, you sure seem to think with your ass sometimes! You should've _known_ better than to run into a burning building!" he continued to steam, gesturing wildly. "What, you wanted to die a hero or something? Well I've got news, you almost _did_! I could've passed right by you! I could've never even known about the fire and never gone down there, I could be out there right now scooping up your goddamn ashes, but do you care? No, Mr. Big Damn Hero, you don't care!"

Reed's eyes were wide, his body slouched down as he absorbed the rant with slight guilt. "I'm…sorry." he offered submissively.

Johnny twitched, seeming intent on a fight. "I…well…you bet your ass you are!"

"…I…I didn't do it to upset you." Reed said softly. No one ever told him that risking your life to save an innocent civilian would lead your boyfriend to throttle you. Wait—_boyfriend_? …Okay then...

Johnny snorted and rolled his eyes, throwing up his arms as he paced a small circle. He turned to face Reed with irritation. "Don't ever do something like that again! I mean Christ, do you know how freaked out I was? Do you have any idea what it's like when the people you love risk their lives pulling stupid stunts like that?"

Reed was about to protest to the egregious hypocrisy of that statement when coming from _Johnny_, but the words caught in his throat… "…Love?" he repeated. "…You love me?"

Johnny instantly stopped pacing, eyes unblinking and brow furrowed. "…Huh?"

"You said, 'the people you love'."

"What? No I didn't!" Johnny sneered, turning red.

"Yes you did, you said—"

"I-I said when the people…or, the people that you care about—when the people you…" he waved his hands and shook his head. "Forget what I said!" he crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

"Okay, fine. Look, anyway…they said that you pulled me out of there." Reed pointed out, touching his bruised ribs. "I guess that means I owe you one."

Johnny was looking at the floor, scuffing at it with the heel of his shoe. "What, I was supposed to leave you there? Yeah, that would've looked good."

"Oh." He gingerly rested his broken arm near his side. He was still in that mindset? Johnny and his damn image. "So…you just did it because you were supposed to. I see."

"…" Johnny didn't say anything for a while, staring at the floor with his arms crossed tightly. Slowly, they fell away, and he trudged over to the bed, grabbing a chair and plopping down into it with a heavy sigh. "…That's not what I meant."

"…That girl needed someone's help. And you weren't there. …Have you heard anything about her? Is she alright?" Reed swallowed, trying to catch Johnny's downed gaze.

"Yeah. Girl's fine. Couple a'burns, nothing serious." He replied quietly.

"Good." Reed sighed in relief and paused for a while before offering Johnny a weakened smile to try and keep the mood in its calmed state.

Groaning in response, Johnny dropped his forehead down onto Reed's stomach and closed his eyes. "…I thought you were dead." He grunted.

Reed hesitantly raised a hand to stroke the back of his head. "…For a minute back there, so did I."

"I'm…I'm sorry about the stupid fight, Reed, it was…stupid." He continued with a scowl. "I-I don't wanna…you know…break up, or whatever."

"I know." Reed nodded, but in reality, he hadn't known, and he was glad that Johnny had said it.

Johnny relaxed slightly, grumbling into Reed's clothing.

"How are Sue and Ben?"

"What? …Oh. Yeah, they're fine. I guess." Johnny drew back up, leaning his arms over the edge of the bed. "Look, are you okay? I mean like, really okay?"

"Don't I look okay?"

"No," Johnny eyed his broken arm and what must've been some marks on his face that Reed himself wasn't aware of. "You look all…beat up."

"Well I'm okay." He protested. Lifting his head a little, he reached up and gently touched the side of Johnny's chin, examining the short row of stitches embedded there with a suspiciously arched brow. "What about you?"

"Yeah, I tripped going in after your ass." He snorted with mock resentment.

Reed smiled again in a good natured, morphine enhanced sort of way. "Thanks for coming after me, Johnny."

With a stubborn mutter, Johnny carefully hooked an arm around Reed's neck and pulled the older man's face into his shoulder. "…You're just…lucky it was fire. 'Cause I'm not that good of a swimmer, so if it woulda been a tidal wave or something, I'd've had to let you drown."

"Duly noted." Reed chuckled.


	15. Chapter 15

**Straight Up Typhoon – 15**

_SWEET! Fifteen. Well, here it is folks, the final installment of the fic. _

_So what can I say? To those of you who stuck with me throughout My Impractical Hurricane all the way to the end of this…I'm shocked at how much time you've wasted. Ah, just kidding! Thank you for reading, reviewing, and giving a purpose to my writing. I'm very happy that it was so well received. Save for by my flamer, of course, who by, the way I still love, wherever she's gotten to. XD I'm sure she's lurking in the shadows somewhere, waiting to leave one last comment and run. You've all been great. And I'm so glad to be finished! It's one less burden on my mind now. _

_So please, enjoy! And don't eat so many onion rings—for a vegetable, they really aren't that good for you._

* * *

"I don't know why they gotta keep you here so long." Ben muttered as he leaned against the wall, eying Reed casually. Sue looked up briefly from her chair, but didn't add anything.

"I was only here overnight, Ben." Reed reminded. "I'm out of here in an hour at the most."

"Yeah, well, it's makin' me uncomfortable." Ben returned. "Makes me think somethin's wrong that they ain't tellin' us. I hate hospitals."

"Sure. There's a conspiracy behind all of this, I'm sure." Reed said sarcastically. He glanced around at all of them with mild satisfaction that they were all in the same room again. If he would've known that a simple little near death experience would bring them all together again, he would've done it weeks ago. It was worth it in more than one way anyway, since in the excitement of the fire and the rescue, the media seemed to have completely forgotten the supposedly made up incident between himself and Johnny. They were heroes again, scandal abated.

"I'm just sayin'. Hospitals've done all sorts a'crazy things. And you never know what these experimental whackjobs'll want with you, especially a guy with DNA like yours, right? …You sure you still got both kidneys?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Did they make you sign anything you didn't read all the way through?"

"Get off his back." Johnny muttered in annoyance. "Break _your_ arm and see how you feel about a hospital then."

"Hey Reed, when'd you get a guard dog?" Ben asked, ignoring Johnny's heated glare.

They looked up as there was a knock at the door, after which it quickly opened and Alicia entered the room. "Hey, I've got the right room, right?"

"Heya, Al." Ben greeted, reaching out to grip her hand and pull her into him.

"Hi guys. How you doin', Reed?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Reed assured. "Just a few scrapes. Are you alright?"

"…As good as I can be." She sighed with obvious effort to keep her tone level. "I'll be better knowing that a certain someone rots in prison."

"I hope they put him in with the biggest, ugliest goons they got." Ben growled, clenching a fist. "I hope he drops the soap and some hairy, sweaty Hell's Angel rear-ends him like a semi plowing into a—" Ben suddenly stopped, and the room fell into the most uncomfortable, suffocating silence any of them could remember as all eyes unconsciously fell upon Johnny and Reed.

Johnny twitched and turned red, looking away and biting his tongue as he shook his head. "_What_?" he dared Ben gravely in a tone that was not to be challenged. Reed rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Uh, nothin'." Ben shrugged with false flippancy. "A-all I'm sayin' is the little jerk has every kind of whoopin' coming to him. I swear, if I'd'a had my way—"

"If you'd'a had your way, we'd be bailing _you_ out of jail." Alicia cut him off.

"What exactly are you all talking about? What happened, anyway?" Reed broke in obliviously.

Sue, Ben, and Johnny all exchanged a brief look before Ben took charge. "You'll never guess who started that fire. You remember that sick punk I was pointin' out to you the other night? The one I've been goin' on about, you remember."

"Wait, you mean…Really?" Reed's eyes widened, taking a moment to absorb this concept. "Why?"

"He's a nasty little psychopath, that's why." Alicia crossed her arms, a grimace on her face. "He was waiting for me in the lobby of my building when I got home. He was angry over getting brushed off or something—the creep took it pretty hard when I told him I was calling the police. I mean enough's enough. But he left after that, I didn't give it another thought. Next thing I know, everything's…gone…" she tossed up a hand and trailed off.

Ben offered a hand on her shoulder and gave another sigh. "Look Reed, I sort of…told Al it'd be okay if she crashed with us for a while, you know? There's nothin' wrong with that, right?"

Reed was blank for a moment before quickly shaking his head, then pausing and nodding jerkily. "Yeah, er, no, I mean of course. You can stay with us as long as you need to."

"You guys are my heroes." Alicia thanked. "But I guess I'm not the only one, am I?"

"You still uncomfortable with that super hero title, Reed?" Ben smirked.

"All I really did was get knocked out." He shook his head again, shrugging his wounded arm and wincing. "And give myself a nice disability for the next few weeks…"

"Which leads us to the question of how, exactly, a guy made of rubber breaks a bone." Johnny noted.

"I wasn't thinking about stretching it when I was landing on it." He muttered back. "In any case, Johnny's the hero. Not me."

Johnny paused before stammering, loosing track of whatever comical remark he might have been about to make. "H-hey, don't pin this on me."

"You should be happy, the public will fall in love with you all over again." Reed pointed out.

"Screw them, they weren't the ones rushing into the fire." He returned.

"Oh really? So suddenly you don't care about what they think?"

Johnny glanced up at him and nodded. "…Well…why should I?"

"I thought that you loved them." Reed went on with a mild sensation of interest at this sudden change of heart.

"To set it straight, _they_ love _me_. I love…my…loved ones." Johnny nodded again and met Reed's eyes only in a flicker. Reed smiled knowingly.

"Aw, well ain't that sweet?" Ben interrupted. "They're friends again."

"Hey, shut up!" Johnny growled, lowering his head in embarrassment.

"Don't yell at me, lover boy—"

"Don't call me that, I'll kick your ass!"

"Johnny, come on, don't lose your head," Reed attempted to intervene.

"Yeah, you and what army? The fan girls?"

"At least I _have_ fan girls."

"Matchstick!"

"Rock head!"

"Frat boy!"

"Geezer!"

"Ouch, hey, that one hurt."

"Ugh, I'm so tired of this!" Sue spoke at last. Alicia laughed slightly, but the others tensed nervously. Their eyes fell on her with terrified anticipation, wondering if this would be the moment she would choose to erupt. Was it finally enough? Was sitting too long in the same room as Reed and Johnny driving her into madness? Would they need another doctor after this? …She only snorted and rolled her eyes. "Will you three stop fighting? The doctor's gonna kick us out."

"Yeah, I wish." Ben said, covering his relieved tone at the lack of meltdown.

"Sue's right, you shouldn't be fighting." Alicia added. "This is the time when you should all be happiest."

"I suppose so." Reed nodded from his place and carefully drew his eyes towards Sue. Every glance meant for her had been full of apology these past few weeks. Usually she ignored it, but now she offered at least a docile sigh. "Sorry, Sue. Really. We won't fight. Right guys?" he raised a dark eyebrow commandingly at Johnny and Ben. Johnny nodded instantly and Ben reluctantly gave sign of his consent as well.

"No fighting." Sue smiled just slightly. "I can't tell you how good that sounds."

All of them fell silent as the door to the room opened and the same tall doctor from the night before marched swiftly into the room. He was looking down at his chart, seeming not to take notice of the miniature crowd that had gathered in all corners until he was already well past the entrance. Furrowing his brow in what looked like a mix between confusion and irritation, he passed a quick sigh through his nose and glared at Reed. "What are you still doing here, Mr. Richards?" he demanded. Present company was obviously befuddled. The doctor continued with no small amount of impatience. "You were scheduled to be discharged an hour ago. Now if you wouldn't mind, this isn't a hotel."

* * *

Six hours after Reed came home from the hospital, things had already died down into a pleasantly tranquil setting. On any other day before his whole incident with Johnny, this particular day and the respective interactions therein would have depressed him greatly, but compared to how things had been only days prior, today had been one of the best that he could remember. That night, the entire team with the addition of Alicia had all eaten dinner together, had a mildly uncomfortable conversation about mundane things, and then had gone their separate ways for the rest of the night. And even though he was sore, exhausted, and a bit mentally fuzzy from painkillers, Reed hadn't been this relaxed in a good, long while.

At least—he would have been, if it hadn't been for Johnny.

Not that the younger was such a bother, but Reed had never found a moment's peace around him in the entire length they had known one another, and now, as he found with much disappointment, was certainly no different. He begged Johnny to sit down and unwind, but he just wouldn't stop with his fidgeting, blabbering, and _constant_ questioning. Whether Reed was hungry, whether he was thirsty, whether he was bored, bothered, tired, needed to lie down, wanted to change the channel. Reed appreciated the sentiment, but a sane man can only take so much.

Johnny drummed his fingers on his knee before looking over at Reed yet again. "How's the arm?"

Reed tried to pretend he hadn't heard him, staring at the scenario of Austin Powers coercing a police officer into joining his dance number on the television screen before them.

"Reed?"

"It's fine." He said at last.

"It doesn't hurt?"

"It's fine." Reed repeated. _What is wrong with you? Just say that it doesn't hurt. …Damn it, he'll just ask until I say it does. _

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"It's broken, Johnny, it's going to hurt some. But with the painkillers, I hardly even feel it." He attempted to assure him, but he doubted that would go over.

"Well how much does it actually hurt? Like on a scale of one to ten? Maybe you should take another one. I'll get 'em for you, you want a drink while I'm up?" Johnny quickly got up and paused to await a response.

"Johnny, do you know what I really want?" Reed sighed in frustration before smirking. He grabbed Johnny by the back of his shirt and yanked him back down onto the couch before pulling him against his chest in an uncharacteristic show of assertiveness. "Just _sit_ here with me. And shut up."

Johnny tensed in all sorts of places with Reed's arm locked around his waist and their bodies so close together. He almost seemed like he was going to pull away, but he settled for a grumble and sat with a disgruntled stiffness. "Oh. Er, okay. Fine"

Reed sat back in relief at the potential of losing the nuisance. So apparently whenever he needed Johnny to stop irritating him, all he had to do was make him uncomfortable…He was more than happy to have finally found a solution. He wondered how long he would be able to enjoy teasing Johnny with simple affections before he would get too used to it. That was all it was, wasn't it? For all of his self-glorified whoring, Johnny was afraid of a little loving. He tried not to laugh. Testing his theory, Reed casually groped his hand into Johnny's side, at which his breath instantly hitched and then held determinedly. "…Comfortable?" Reed asked sweetly.

"Yeahgreat." Johnny wheezed. "But…listen, Reed, can I say some—thing?" he attempted.

"You can try."

"Enough with the sarcasm."

"Sarcasm? I wouldn't dream of it."

"Reed," Johnny sighed, pushing away from him a little so that he could face him. "Gimme a little credit here?"

Reed straightened up and shifted so that his elbow wasn't nudging so painfully into the couch. So Johnny wanted to play adult. This should be interesting. "Sure. I'm sorry. What is it?"

"I-I…just, you know, wanted to say a few things. Just, well, just for the sake of sayin' 'em, 'cause, you know, I…" he made some inane gesture. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what I said before. Okay?"

Reed didn't know if Johnny was apologizing for what he said during their fight or what he had said in the hospital in his high-strung rant. "…Okay."

"You know I would've flipped out if anything really bad'd happened to you…right?" he slowly brought his eyes to Reed's face.

Reed nodded hesitantly as he studied Johnny, biting his lower lip in ponder. "…Of course I know that." He said quietly. Johnny was never a fan of admitting emotion, and he was never very good at it either. The sad part was that he was still better at it than Reed. What a pair they made. It was amazing anything ever got said between them. Then again, maybe nothing ever did, and maybe, in some strange way, that was why this worked. At least hoping to match Johnny in courage, he searched through the softest parts of his soul and mustered up his own truly heartfelt response. "…So this is some movie, huh?" Oh, fucking hell.

"Uh…"

"I mean, er, that's not what I mean…" he shook his head and made a mental note to smack himself later. "I know, Johnny. You don't need to explain it to me. Whatever else we've said to each other, we…" he paused. "I mean, we're alright. Aren't we?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Johnny agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But there's uh…there's…something else…"

Wow, Johnny was really going all out on this one. Usually he hated to talk about things that needed to be talked about, what could be so important? Then it clicked. Something else? What something else? Oh God, Johnny had slept with someone last night, hadn't he? The lousy, cheating, thick-headed, brainless _jackass_, how could he have—?

"Okay, when you were…" Johnny swallowed thickly and looked away, seeming agitated. "When they took you to the hospital, and I was waiting around, you know?"

"I was unconscious." Reed reminded dryly.

"Well I sort of told myself I would…that I would tell you this…if…you know, if you were okay."

"What is it already?"

Johnny growled and ground the heel of his palm into his forehead as he sank into his seat. "Um…fine, alright, the first night. The first night you and I…er…You know, you were sick? And I got home early? And we started talking and then, uh…You know the night, right?"

The night. Did he mean the night of witty exchange, inadvertent wrestling, and the little peck on the lips that had subsequently altered Reed's universe into the label of lecherousness and apparently selective bisexuality? "Yeah, I...seem to remember that night. It's pretty hard to forget considering the way things ended u—"

"It was me." Johnny interrupted shortly.

Reed stopped, furrowing his brow in confusion. "…What?"

Johnny sneered at him and rolled his eyes. "…The kiss. I kissed you."

There was a depthless silence.

Reed's brain shut down. For as useful as it should have been, it seemed to do that an awful lot. Was he saying what Reed thought he was saying? "It was you?" he uttered in disbelief. Of course, he had accused Johnny of having been the initiator of the first kiss before, but that had really only been in retaliation to the accusation he himself had received. Plus there had been something along the lines of hangovers and orange juice involved in that argument…In reality, he had no idea who had done it, or if either of them had meant to do it, or, if so, which of them it had been. He assumed, after a point, that he would never know. But it had been Johnny, all this time. This whole thing was because of Johnny. "…_why_?"

Johnny drew out a trembling sigh and looked down at the couch, mouth open but no words coming out for quite some time. "I don't know. It's not like I came home and said, 'Gee, I'm bored, I think I'll go make out with my brother-in-law'. I didn't…I didn't even mean to do it when I did it. But I did it. So I guess I'm trying to say I'm sorry." He paused for a moment and quirked a brow. "Uh, well maybe not exactly sorry, but I'm…I…I just thought you should know it was me. I guess."

"So then this was your fault." Reed concluded. "Everything. It's all your fault."

Johnny looked up with an expression that was both guilty and hurt. "Hey, I _never _would've kissed you a second time. That was all you, you jerk. Damn it, why'd I even tell you this?"

"No, I mean," Reed started laughing. "All this time I thought it was just me. That, you know, everything was my fault. I thought I did something to you that…" he shook his head and smiled. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

"Fine, okay, so there, we're even. Now you know." Johnny folded his arms over his chest and leaned back into the couch as he fixed his eyes onto the screen indignantly.

Reed looked over at him with a pleased intrigue. For once, he didn't feel like he was the villain of the house. He actually didn't start this. Sure, he might've finished it, in a sense, but he didn't start it, and that was good enough for him. "You…" Reed cleared his throat and edged a little closer to his companion. "You know what I think would make my arm feel a lot better?"

Johnny gave him a sideways glance and started to shake his head before he froze. "Wh…huh?"

"You know…" he encouraged as he fondled the hem of Johnny's shirt almost imperceptibly between a thumb and forefinger.

Johnny stared blankly. "You…want me to take my shirt off?"

Reed winced and laughed nervously. "If it adds to the process, sure."

"Man, you're nuts. Yeah right." Johnny pushed him away and tried to focus on the television. He eyes continued to flicker back and forth between it and Reed, however. "No way. You're drugged. And all banged up. And…and everyone else is home."

"And asleep." Reed pointed out.

Johnny shook his head and jerkily began tapping his foot on the floor. "Just, I don't know, watch the movie. Hey, look, Elizabeth Hurley."

"Just a kiss?" Reed suggested. "Since you seem to like starting that so much."

"Shut up!" Johnny tried to keep a laugh out of his tone.

"Come on."

"No."

"Come on."

"Lay off, I said no."

"…Come on."

"Reed, quit it."

"You know me, Johnny, I don't give in so easily."

With an exasperated grunt, Johnny turned just slightly and pecked Reed on the lips. "There. Okay?"

"Was that really so bad?"

"…Wasn't awful."

"Alright, alright. Anyway…thanks."

Johnny was halfway through a nod before he stopped. "For what?"

"Well," Reed rested his head a moment on the back of the couch. "for making it to the fire on time. For saving my life. For worrying about me. I don't think I've ever had many people who would do those things for me."

"Sure. Glad I could help out." Johnny glanced over as Reed kissed his shoulder. "Thanks for um…your stuff."

Reed smirked at Johnny's infinite eloquence and settled back once more to watch the movie he had no interest in. "So…just how long _has_ it been since you've had sex? If you don't consider it prying, that is."

Johnny visibly twitched. "I consider it prying."

"Because it's been years for me."

Johnny halted, his eyes instantly shifting to Reed. "…No." he denied simply. "You're not serious. …Years?"

Reed shrugged. "I've had a lot of preoccupations. Research, experimentation, and that's all set apart from what's been going on here in the past few months. Where would I have found the time?"

"Years?" Johnny repeated incredulously.

"Give or take a month or two…"

"Uh…wow."

"So how long has it been for you?"

"…"

"Johnny?"

"Too long, alright?" Johnny let out a pensive breath and leaned over with a hand on Reed's jaw as he kissed him again. Reed momentarily patted himself on the back for being just so clever. The instant their lips met, Johnny was already beyond a point of no return. Of course, he was usually that way all the same. Johnny was always heated, in whatever he did. He hadn't lost a step between them since the last time they had kissed.

"Did you ever notice," Reed pointed out with a bit of a pant as Johnny's hands moved over his chest. "that almost every one of our…um…encounters…seems to happen on this couch?"

"It's a magic couch." Johnny muttered in dismissal.

Reed worked his good arm down around Johnny's middle and leaned his weight into him, successfully pushing him down onto his back against the couch as he continued. Johnny's right hand moved in an instinctively protective fashion against Reed's broken arm as his other held his head forcefully in place. "I think this is about where we left off…" Reed said against Johnny's neck as hands roamed.

"I think it was closer to here." Johnny played along and guided Reed's hand to the rim of his pants.

"Here?"

"Ah, yeah, that's…"

"Better?"

"Well, no, that's my hip."

"It—? Oh, sorry. You're turned all funny. Here."

"Uh, yeah, there it is."

"Well so it is."

"Keep doing that..."

"Reed?" a third voice suddenly entered the mix and Reed froze, head jerking up from where he was on top of Johnny.

"Uh—Alicia!" Reed chirped and cleared his throat, clamping his hand over Johnny's mouth. Johnny's eyes traveled cautiously between them.

Alicia stood in the doorway, leaning a hand out against the frame as she faced the room and luckily seeming unaware that he wasn't alone. Reed had almost completely forgotten that she essentially lived here now. "…Hey, you okay in here?"

Reed swallowed heavily and dropped his head down onto Johnny's chest. "Uh, yeah. No, I'm fine. Just…lying down. Was there something you needed?"

"I was just about to take a shower, if that's alright. It's been a helluva long day… Do you have any towels you could throw my way?" she asked tentatively.

"Sure." Reed replied quickly. "There's a closet at the end of the hall. Towels are on the second shelf."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Reed, I really appreciate you letting me stay here."

"It's nothing. Really." He assured. "We're happy to have you."

"Well…thanks all the same." She nodded and moved a little away from the door before pausing. "Goodnight guys."

Reed and Johnny both winced in mild shock. "Uh, heh…'night, Al…" Johnny offered meekly as Reed's hand fell away.

She gave a casual smile that just may have been a smirk and disappeared down the hallway.

"Okay, I take it back," Johnny decided. "This couch isn't magic. It's cursed."

"You're probably right." Reed laughed lightly and sighed. "…I wonder if the bed is cursed, too."

Johnny looked up as though contemplating and raised an eyebrow. "Only one way to find out."

And so, in keeping with the spirit of that first night, both men fled the room as fast as possible.


End file.
